Mr. Dechisit Khaothong, former Deputy Minister of the Interior, confirmed that due to land limitations, the running track was designed for exercise purposes, not for competition.
On 7 January 2026, following an online controversy sparked on 24 December 2025 when the Padang Besar Municipality Facebook page posted images of Mayor Supat Santipiyakul inspecting the Padang Besar Municipal Sports Stadium, which has been completed and is ready for handover. Many netizens questioned why the running track around the stadium was rectangular rather than following international standards.
The page "Tong Chae" posted information found through the e-GP system, revealing that the project is the construction of the Sadue District Sports Stadium in Songkhla Province, with a construction budget of 35 million baht. The 2024 budget allocated 5 million baht, with a binding budget of 30 million baht for 2025. According to the Songkhla Provincial Administrative Organization's plans, the project was tendered electronically (e-bidding) with a set median price of 35,011,159.46 baht and a contract value of 34,990,000 baht.
Later, Mr. Dechisit Khaothong, former Deputy Minister of the Interior, together with Mayor Supat Santipiyakul of Padang Besar Municipality, former Songkhla Provincial Administrative Organization President Attapol Prommun, Worawi Yoonu, and others visited the Sadue District’s second sports stadium located in Padang Besar Municipality. They addressed the widely criticized issue.
He stated, “In the past, Padang Besar lacked a standard sports stadium. Since the area is near the Malaysia border, the idea was to develop a sports facility to foster international relations. However, when assessing the actual site for constructing a football field and standard running track, land size constraints were found. After discussions, the decision was to prioritize the football field, while the running track was designed for the public to walk and exercise casually, and cannot accommodate standard athletic competitions.”
Furthermore, if in the future there is a desire to improve or modify the running track to meet standards, it will require the municipality to hand over the project to the new mayor for further consideration.