National sports complex requests land return after F1 cancellation

The complex has sent a report to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to ask Hanoi People's Committee to return 12.86 hectares of land they had used for the construction of the F1 track back in 2020.

The land is located in lot 1B, under the management and long-term use of the complex. To build a race track for the first ever F1 event in Hanoi, the land was temporarily assigned to Hanoi authorities to manage and use.

However, in October 2020, organizers announced the F1 race in Hanoi was postponed.

In March 2021, the F1 Hanoi race got delayed indefinitely before Hanoi officially canceled the event.

The complex plans to use the land to build an indoor arena for SEA Games 31, to be hosted here next year.

The National Sports Complex was established in 1999 and has the right to manage and use 247 hectares of land. After several adjustments, the complex is managing 170.55 hectares.

The complex is currently in a difficult financial situation. It's financially independent and its main source of income is from land leasing. But for the past couple of years, that business was temporarily stopped for the construction of the F1 racing track in the complex. Recently, the complex's vice director revealed that they "have no budget" to renovate the My Dinh National Stadium there.

The Asian Football Confederation has required the stadium to be upgraded after criticism of the pitch conditions during the World Cup qualifying game with Australia in early September, with some fans calling it a "cow paddock."

The highly anticipated Vietnamese Grand Prix, the first F1 race in Vietnam, has been postponed since March 2020 because of Covid-19. The race was supposed be held on the Hanoi Street Circuit, a temporary track next to My Dinh National Stadium, which was built on the area of National Sports Complex.