This was a discovery, but it certainly was not something new after I did a bit of digging on the internet. I passed this area frequently but never be bothered to explore what was inside.
This place had been stigmatised! Why? The flooding. The biggest one being in June 2007. The area right underneath the Dataran Merdeka field was a carpark. On that fateful day, it poured for three hours and Sungai Gombak broke its bank, flooding the whole carpark to the ceiling. Luckily, the place was evacuated in time but the cars were submerged without the loss of any life.
Since then, the Dataran had undergone renovation and facelift, but the stigma stuck. In 2012, an ambitious Italian took over the project, planning to turn the area into a convention centre. You could understand why when you enter the place.
It was neat, fully airconditioned and the place was huge. The ceiling was a bit too low for my liking, based from the fact that it was built as a carpark, but I could see it being turned into a bazaar. The place even had a new, trendy hipster name. Dataran Undrgrnd. All minus the vowels of course!
There was an exposition area with break rooms, restaurant and stalls, nice toilet facilities. Everything was in place, but the stigma stuck. Nobody in their right mind would like to book the place for a big event, let alone investing into it as their office or outlet.
So, what was left was a deserted indoor park with decent facilities and area for activities. Imagine if there was an urban festivals, all under one roof with break-out areas in the sun upstairs, complete with parks and all? I wouldn't mind attending to that. Just hope that there would not be torrential rain during the event as it may turn into a disaster!
On the day I visited, the weather outside was gorgeous. The nice aircondition offered some respite, and the cold drinks there was just heavenly. The place definitely has got everything, but the event in 2007 would definitely haunt it forever.
