A year on, proposed e-sports hub still in state of ruin

The building is dilapidated, with pools of water on the floor, a collapsed ceiling, and broken basic facilities, while the surrounding area is overrun with weeds and litter.

FMT found the site of the proposed Selangor e-sports hub at the former Carlton Hotel neglected, with no work under way on improvements to the building.

SHAH ALAM:

 More than a year after plans for a Selangor e-sports hub were announced, there are still no signs of development at the site, the former Carlton Hotel in Section 13.

The building earmarked for the hub was in a sorry state when FMT made a visit.

The surrounding area is overrun with weeds and litter, vandalised with graffiti, while broken glass doors and open drains pose safety risks.

Inside, the building is equally dilapidated with pools of water on the floor, a collapsed ceiling, and broken basic facilities.

Several rooms show no signs of maintenance for years, and old hotel signage still clings to the exterior, alongside the faded logo of the Selangor State Sports Council.

The poor conditions inside the old Carlton Hotel building in Shah Alam.

Plans to renovate the site were announced by menteri besar Amirudin Shari in November last year, when tabling the state’s 2025 budget.

He said the state government would invest RM1 million to renovate and transform the site into a central e-sports facility that would allow Selangor to host Asean and international e-sports competitions.

The plan was inspired by the triumph of the Selangor Red Giants, who ended Malaysia’s seven-year drought in international e-sports by defeating the Philippines’ Falcons AP Bren Sport in the 2025 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid-Season Cup.

However, no timetable for the renovation was given, and little seems to have happened.

FMT has asked Amirudin and state youth, sports and entrepreneurship chairman Najwan Halimi for comment.

The acting president of the Selangor Esports Association, Hafis Khairulah, said the association has not been kept informed about the project’s planning or progress.

He said the delay could hurt efforts to nurture talented players at the district level without a centralised training facility.

“Physical facilities are needed to train and develop players in a centralised way so that they can be groomed into professional athletes,” he said. - FMT