Sweep ticket sales will fund new arts centre
"With the picture of The Esplanade on the Sweep tickets, those people who buy them will know that they are contributing to a good cause and will feel that they have a share in the centre." -- Mr Jim Nah from Singapore Pools, on the new Singapore Sweep ticket (above).
The Straits Times, Nov 26, 1997
BUY a Singapore Sweep ticket today and you will help to build the first world-class performing arts centre here.
For the next four years, all net proceeds from the sale of the $2 Singapore Sweep tickets will go towards the construction of The Esplanade -- Theatres on the Bay, which costs about $513 million.
The Esplanade will house a 1,800-seat concert hall, a lyric theatre that can seat 2,000, three smaller indoor theatres, several outdoor performing areas and a retail complex.
The first phase, comprising the concert hall, lyric theatre and supporting facilities, is expected to be completed in 2001.
About 80 per cent of the building cost -- or about $409 million -- will be borne by Singapore Pools, which operates the Singapore Sweep, Toto and 4-D lotteries.
It has pledged to provide the money over a six-year period.
To project the new goal, the Singapore Sweep tickets will display different images of The Esplanade.
New prizes have also been introduced.
These changes, to start with the January draw, were made public yesterday by Mr Lim Boon Heng, the Minister without Portfolio and NTUC Secretary-General.
The prize changes:
* Number of categories for the three-digit prizes will increase to seven, from the present four.
At the same time, the number of winners in each category will go up: from 3,300 to 3,500.
* Prize amount for a three-digit winning ticket will be fixed at $50, instead of $100 for three of the four categories at the moment.
* The amount of the Premium Prize, an additional prize for all winners in a particular draw, has been increased, from $99,000 to $200,000.
This prize is given to those with winning tickets whose first six digits match the number drawn.
* Only one six-digit number will be drawn for the Premium Prize.
At present, three such numbers are drawn each time.
Mr Jim Nah, the assistant manager for the corporate department of Singapore Pools, said the use of Singapore Sweep tickets to fund The Esplanade project will give Singaporeans a sense of ownership of the new arts centre.
"With the picture of The Esplanade on the Sweep tickets, those people who buy them will know that they are contributing to a good cause and will feel that they have a share in the centre."
Past beneficiaries of the Singapore Sweep's net proceeds include the National Council of Social Service, the Football Association of Singapore and the Singapore Sports Council.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Arts Centre, the non-profit body put in charge of developing the complex, has been renamed The Esplanade Co Ltd.
Its board of directors has also been expanded from three to 15, led by Mr Michael Wong Pakshong, chairman of Sime Singapore Ltd and the Robinson & Company Ltd Group.
Copyright © 1998 Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.
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