SINGAPORE -- Lion City Sailors have confirmed that preparations are now underway to get Bishan Stadium deemed suitable as the venue for the AFC Champions League Two final.
Following their remarkable run through to the decider of Asian football's second-tier club competition, the Sailors earned hosting rights as the finalists from the East region.
This is in line with the tournament's policy of alternating each season's final hosts between East and West.
Nonetheless, with Jalan Besar Stadium -- Sailors' home ground throughout the campaign -- deemed unsuitable for the final, and the 55,000-capacity National Stadium unavailable as it has already been booked for a Lady Gaga concert, Bishan emerged as the sole alternative.
West Zone finalists Sharjah initially voiced their disapproval over Jalan Besar as "not suitable" and not meeting "the aspirations of the fans and stakeholders", and there would likely have been a similar sentiment towards Bishan, which can officially hold approximately 2,800 -- which is significantly less than the former.
Nonetheless, it was announced that Bishan had been granted provisional approval by the Asian Football Confederation -- pending a "final inspection and formal approval" slated for early May.
On Monday, the Sailors announced that works are now underway - stating in particular that this would involve increasing the stadium's capacity to accommodate up to 10,000.
This will be achieved with the erection of North, East and South stands, with Bishan currently only boasting a permanent structure in the form of a West stand.
ESPN has previously understood that, while a capacity of 10,000 is not an official requirement, it is a figure that will likely need to be reached given other specifications given mandatory allocations for groups such as VVIPs, VIPS and media.
Other upgrades believed to be necessary include working spaces for various groups including media, organising committees and secretariats, pitch conditions and lighting.
Although provisional approval was first granted on April 23, the Sailors have only been able to begin upgrades now given Bishan's inaccessibility in the build-up to Singapore's general election -- which took place on Saturday.
Bishan had been used for an election rally on April 30.
As previously stated, the Sailors will get support from and work closely together with both the Football Association of Singapore and statutory board Sport Singapore to complete the necessary upgrades.
"This final is not just a milestone for the Sailors -- it's a celebration of Singapore football. We can't wait to see the stands packed and the nation rallying behind the team," said Sailors chairman Forrest Li, who was also recently appointed the new president of FAS.