M Barghchi - Dept. of Town and Regional Planning, Architecture Engineering Faculty, Khavaran Higher Education Institute, Mashhad, Iran
D Omar - Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, Malaysia
M. S. Aman - Sports Centre, Universiti Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Sport mega-events have gained increasingly popularity and influence among cities. Currently there is universal construction boom developing sports facilities either for hosting sports events or for smaller scale activities. However, the development of sports facilities requires vast amounts of money for construction, ancillary amenities and a high cost of maintenance. In addition, high construction costs, high maintenance cost and under-utilisation of facilities post event are considered as possible negative impacts for hosting sports events. On the other hand, there are some examples where large-scale events are considered as a catalyst for urban restructuring, embodying more general trends in urban development and planning. Furthermore, the new generation of sports facilities is considered to have a role in shaping new cities or regenerating decaying areas of old cities. Malaysia in 1998 hosted the 16th Commonwealth Games, which necessitated the construction of the Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex. This paper contributes to this area of research to stimulate new development as experienced in Malaysia. It used semi-structured in-depth interviews and sourced relevant documents in the form of approved layout plans, official reports, land use and master plan for the territory within the Bukit Jalil City Area. The research was aimed to examine the long-term benefits of the National Sports Complex on the surrounding urban development and whether it has contributed to any significant impacts to spur development at the Bukit Jalil Kuala Lumpur. However, it could provide better justification for public investment. It concludes by making recommendations for the benefits to be maximised in the future developments.

Sports facilities, sport mega-events, long-term benefits, urban development, Malaysia