HONG KONG - Kai Tak Multi-Purpose Stadium (45,000)

[hkskyline]

Big stadium is the missing link for HK as sports host Indian cricket supremo laments lack of multi-purpose venue
23 November 2008
South China Morning Post

Lalit Modi, billionaire Indian Premier League cricket supremo, has said he would love to bring the popular version of the game to Hong Kong.

However, there is one major problem: no adequate stadium.

"Hong Kong is a fantastic city. I love it when I come here on business, and I've heard the Sixes is great," the chairman and commissioner of Indian Premier League and Champions League, told the Sunday Morning Post.

"But we'd need a multi-purpose venue which could hold at least 50,000 and has a field not just for rugby or football."

The IPL is a league of 20 cricket teams that was played in India for the first time last year and featured a collection of cricket's biggest stars. The teams are owned by big-name corporations and movie stars.

Singapore-based World Sports Group and India's Sony Entertainment Television paid more than US$1 billion for media rights of the IPL over the next 10 years.

Twenty20 cricket is a shortened form of the game that is completed in about 2½ hours.

Mr Modi's comments follow Post revelations of how plans for a major stadium at the old Kai Tak airport site have been revised down and delayed.

The initial proposal for a 50,000-to-70,000-seat venue with a retractable roof and surface - perfect for games such as cricket - has been modified to one for a 45,000-seater. A 5,000-seat stadium and indoor sports arena are to be built nearby.

The Home Affairs Bureau says there is no timetable for construction and any development must tie in with redevelopment of the entire area.

Mr Modi believes the Twenty20 format of the game can succeed in mainland China. And Hong Kong, with its established cricket scene, would be the perfect launching pad for the game.

"There is no doubt there is a lot of excitement about the format and it is a form of the game that is easier to learn," he said.

Mark Burns, director of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes, said while that event was always well attended, there was little scope for hosting largerformat internationals in Hong Kong.

The Kowloon Cricket Club, where the Sixes had been played since 2001, was not designated as a one-day international ground, he said. The only field large enough in Hong Kong to host one-day internationals is the Mission Road ground in Ho Man Tin.

"But there is no room for any stands," Mr Burns said. "So we could host a one-day international there, but no one would be able to watch it. At this stage, if we want to host any internationally recognised [largerformat] cricket event in Hong Kong, we're going to need a new stadium."

The Hong Kong Stadium in So Kon Po is too small to stage cricket matches and is the wrong shape.

John Parker of the Amici Group, an international events company, said the lack of venues was hampering Hong Kong's emergence as a global sports hub.

"The success of the Bledisloe Cup rugby international a couple of weeks ago proved there's a huge appetite in Hong Kong both from an audience perspective and a sponsorship viewpoint," said Mr Parker, whose company is behind a rugby World Club Challenge in Singapore next year and Hong Kong in 2010.

"If you want to host rugby, Hong Kong works, no problem. But if you have aspirations to bring other sports or events which might also be a good fit, such as cricket, Australian rules or Gallic football, then the lack of venues is a major issue.

"It is just not economically viable, which is a pity because people are already talking about Hong Kong as a sports hub. "You get all these teams passing through the city on their end-of-season tours, but they aren't playing any sport while they're here. And that is simply because we don't have the venues."

[plasticterminator]

Having been based in Hong Kong many moons ago and working at Hong kong stadium, plus other venues i would like to add further comment. The government made the mistake of constructing a stadium on the basis of one event i.e the rugby sevens they are not going to do the same on the basis of one or even three big cricket events a year. In hk horse racing is king followed by football with everything else a very distant third. The only way to have a sustainable stadium in hk is for south china (the only supported football team in hk) to enter the mainland chinese football league as sole team of hk professional football. This would mean at least 15-20 crowds a year of 30k+ then additional rugby sevens and 2 or 3 summer tours from the likes of man u etc and new year cup.
The fact is Hong Kong stadium is a beautiful multi purpose stadium but football does not sustain it and it never will as long as hk sides play each other in a mickey mouse league. Anyone who builds a sports stadium on the premise of none sporting or unusual sporting events sustaining it is an idiot! And that means there are a lot of idiots out there!
THE FUNDAMENTAL BASIS FOR ANY STADIUM IN THE WORLD MUST ALWAYS BE A PROFESSIONAL TEAM THAT PLAYS THERE ABOUT 30 TIMES A YEAR WITH PREDICTABLE CROWD FIGURES.

[BobDaBuilder]

^

If it is privately owned then I would agree, but with government owned facilities it doesn't matter. The tax payers pockets are very large.

I can name a load of stadia that have nowhere near 30 events a year. Wembley or Twickenham in London for starters.

Then Lord's, the Oval...... goes on and on and on.

[Bobby3]

Wembley and Twickenham have over 30 events per year. They host a lot of concerts.

[hkskyline]

Stadium wait too long, say HK officials
Decision shows sport 'bottom priority'
15 January 2009
South China Morning Post

The 12-year wait to build a new stadium at Kai Tak was yesterday blasted by Hong Kong sports officials, who criticised the government for putting sport last on its list of priorities.

Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, president of the Hong Kong Olympic Committee, took a swipe at the government's decision to cap off the HK$100 billion Kai Tak development project by building a 45,000-seat sports stadium which will only be ready in 2021.

"Having to wait another 12 years for a new stadium is a huge disappointment," Fok said yesterday. "This shows where sport comes on the government's priority list.

"We had hoped that with the successful hosting of the Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong, the government would be more conducive towards sport development.

"But Kai Tak proves sport is still not a priority for the government. It is very disappointing."

Fok said the decision to keep the sports stadium until last would mean Hong Kong would fall further behind Asian neighbour Singapore, and even Guangzhou, and put paid to the boast that this city is a sports hub.

"Singapore is in the process of building a major sports facility, one with both government and private collaboration. The NBA is building a facility in Guangzhou. But let's look beyond sport itself, and consider that if Hong Kong is a major city in the world, shouldn't it have a world-class stadium?" asked Fok.

Hong Kong Rugby Football Union officials were also dismayed at the government's lack of urgency towards building a new stadium.

"It is extremely disappointing to say the least that we will have to wait until 2021 to get a new stadium," said Allan Payne, HKRFU executive director. "We find it incredible to have to wait this long for the government to get into gear."

Rugby is the only sport which can fill the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium to capacity. The HKRFU had hoped the new stadium would have increased capacity and would have been built before 2015 - as there are plans to host a group of the 2015 or 2019 World Cup if Japan won the right to host the tournament.

"A newer and bigger stadium would have added to our armour and enabled us to entice more top-class internationals to Hong Kong like the Bledisloe Cup last year. We could do with a bigger stadium," Payne said.

He added: "We understand the demands on the government's coffers right now. But by telling us that they can only build a new stadium by 2021, it gives Hong Kong sports a true indication on how the government rates sports."

The long-awaited project to turn the site of the former Kai Tak airport - which closed in 1998 - into a modern district was unveiled by the government on Tuesday. The redevelopment will take effect in three stages with the first phase to be completed by 2013, the second by 2016 and the last in 2021.

Among the major components of the project estimated to cost HK$100 billion is a new cruise terminal (to be ready in 2013), public housing (2013), other residential and commercial developments (2016), and a 45,000-seater sports stadium and park built on the old runway by 2021.

Fok said every effort would be made to change the government's decision.

"I will try to convince the government to bring forward the timetable for the stadium. We don't have a stadium for the East Asian Games which we host this December. We need a new multi-sports stadium as soon as possible," Fok said.

[hkskyline]

Total lack of support means it's all 'special events' from here
18 January 2009
South China Morning Post

A goddess on a mountain top

Burning like a silver flame

The summit of beauty she was

And Venus was her name

She's got it

Yeah, baby, she's got it

Well, I'm your Venus, I'm your fire

At your desire

I couldn't help but hum this Bananarama hit as I watched Venus Williams toy with Jelena Jankovic in last week's JB Group Classic at Victoria Park.

It was clear there was no love lost between the two. Williams, the reigning Wimbledon champion and winner of six other grand slam titles was out to crush the Serb, winner of no majors, but still the world number one.

Something must clearly be wrong in the world of tennis if a person can scale the summit without winning a grand slam title. No wonder Venus was so focused on beating Jankovic. She did, in straight sets.

Despite the four-day tournament being a "special event", or in other words an exhibition tournament, it was clear the elder Williams sister was deadly serious. She wanted to win at all costs. Just imagine the outcome if it had been a regular WTA event with ranking points and prize money at stake?

Looking around the packed centre court, it seemed a real pity that Hong Kong doesn't host an official event on either the men's or women's tours. We used to have one. The Salem Open was once a major tournament that put Hong Kong on the international sports calendar. It began in 1990, the same year the ATP Tour was formed.

Hong Kong was a founding member of the ATP Tour and this city proudly hosted one of the most popular tournaments on the circuit. The players loved to come here. And we have seen everyone from Pete Sampras to Andre Agassi, and Boris Becker to Pat Cash at Victoria Park.

Australian maverick Cash even had the gall, after winning one year - I think it was in 1994 - to criticise smoking during the prize presentation on centre court, much to the dismay of sponsors Salem. Those were the days when you could call a spade a spade and didn't have to worry about being politically correct.

But the good old days ended in 2002 when tournament organisers decided the grass was greener in Beijing and opted to move the Hong Kong Open the following year.

Lincoln Venancio, the tournament director and licensee-holder of the Salem Open, said the reason was due to the Beijing Olympics. He was quoted in this newspaper as saying: "They are building state-of-the-art facilities for tennis in Beijing. The economic upswing in Beijing is also a factor with most of our corporate clients looking to China as a growth market. Also sports in Beijing is a number one priority."

So after 13 years of hosting an ATP Tour event, Hong Kong lost a fabulous tournament.

Terry and Brian Catton, the tournament directors of the JB Group Classic which is organised by the Hong Kong Tennis Patrons Association (HKTPA), are all for resurrecting an ATP or WTA event in Hong Kong.

But the obstacles are insurmountable, the biggest being money. It costs between US$12 million and US$20 million to purchase the licence for a top-quality ATP tournament. The cost for a similar WTA tournament, where you are guaranteed seven of the world's top 10 women, would be between US$8 million and US$10 million.

"The Tennis Patrons Association would never be able to afford this. On top of this, we would have to pay prize money in the region of US$2 million. We would need sponsors with very deep pockets," said Terry Catton.

He added: "It is unlikely unless the government - as in some other countries/cities - stepped in to foot the bill."

Apart from the cost of the licence, ATP and WTA rules require a city to have a centre court stadium with 7,500 seats, one show court, five match courts and four practice courts.

"There are no such facilities available in Hong Kong. But we do hope the government will one day build the required facilities, either at Victoria Park or at the Kai Tak site," Terry Catton said.

Now, that's wishful thinking, Can you imagine the government coughing up for the licence or building new facilities?

But they have an obligation to do so. It was the government's ban on smoking and advertisements that led to Salem - and also Marlboro which used to back another major "special event" in Hong Kong - pulling out of the Hong Kong Open in 2002. We don't advocate smoking and back the ban, but the least the government could have done after closing down this avenue of funding would have been to step in and provide the funds.

While US$10 million might seem a lot for a WTA licence, it could be regarded as an investment which could appreciate in value. Of course, building facilities is another issue. The government had the chance of turning Victoria Park into a suitable venue for international tennis, but the refurbishment for the East Asian Games was nothing more than superficial.

We can only look at other cities with envy. For example, the Masters Series event in Shanghai at the tail end of the season is financially supported by the Shanghai municipal government.

The Hong Kong government may say it wants to turn the city into a major sporting hub. But that's simply lip service. If it is really serious, the government should set up a fund to support the hosting of international events.

The government is the only one capable, especially in these desperate times, to prop up sports. It should get into partnership with private bodies like the HKTPA and look at ways to raise the city's profile. And doing it through sports is one of the best ways.

But that is my pipedream. I'm resigned to watching more "special events" in the future. Thankfully, we get a glimpse of Venus every year and there's no doubt she's got it.

Yeah baby, she's got it.

[Jim856796]

I think the new Kai Tak Multi Purpose Stadium should be an oval version of the existing Hong Kong Stadium.

[hkskyline]

An old article :

Early run for Kai Tak stadium
Hong Kong Standard
Wednesday, January 04, 2006



The government is pushing ahead by five years the estimated completion of the proposed HK$2 billion 45,000-seat multi-purpose stadium at the former Kai Tak airport site.

While in line with Chief Executive Donald Tsang's recent pledge to kickstart long stagnating plans, the move has aroused concern that rushing the project might lead to another West Kowloon- type imbroglio.

Eddie Poon, principal assistant secretary for Home Affairs, disclosed Tuesday the stadium, which is expected to break ground in 2008, might be completed as early as 2010. Poon did not say what might happen to the Hong Kong Stadium in So Kon Po other than highlighting "it had a lot of limitations" that led to "a low usage rate."

But, as revealed by The Standard in October, the site will be sold off for luxury residential development, with the earnings earmarked for the new "Sports City" concept envisioned by Tsang, who wants to turn Kai Tak into a world- class sports venue.

This was hinted at by Poon, who noted that in the ongoing consultation on the 133-hectare former airport site, a majority of those who gave their views were in support of a mildly populated sports-focused development.

The consultation, which began in October and ends later this month, put forward three concept plans.

While all three plans included a stadium complex, a cruise terminal and a waterfront promenade, two proposals laid a greater emphasis on commercial and residential development, allotting housing for up to 128,000 people.

In what the government labeled the "Sports by the Harbour" plan, only 69,000 people will live around a 24-hectare stadium complex, which will feature a world-class venue - likely covered by a retractable roof - a 5,000-seat supplementary sports ground and an indoor sports complex with swimming pools for daily recreational use.

But critics worry that laying a timetable for a project that has yet to be drawn up or receive the public's tacit approval risks igniting the kind of explosive opposition that has so far held down plans for the West Kowloon cultural district.

Vincent Ng, chairman of the government appointed Harbourfront Enhancement Committee's harbor plan review sub-committee, shares those fears.

He warned: "Being so hurried, the government will not have time to think and plan thoroughly."

Kwok Ka-ki, medical sector lawmaker and spokesman for Action Group for Protection of the Harbour, contended that the government has not granted enough time for the Legislative Council to discuss the proposals.

He said this is despite the fact that many lawmakers have expressed reservations that all three concept plans include the stadium.

Kwok also questioned whether Hong Kong needs a world-class stadium, which, he fears, might become a "white elephant" like the HK$1 billion venue in So Kon Po. The stadium, which was completed in 1994, hosts only a few high-profile events because of severe noise restrictions.

"What we need is sports training and development," he said.

Critics also wonder why the rushed project will not be completed in time to host the 2009 East Asian Games.

Patrick Lau, Architectural, Surveying and Planning sector legislator and vice chairman of the Town Planning Board, called the mistiming "strange," "paradoxical," and "not ideal."

Lau also hoped that there will be more consultation on whether a stadium is best suited for Kai Tak, which is slated for tens of thousands of residents.

The administration has been under pressure to provide new facilities for elite athletes as a result of the decision to close Sha Tin's Hong Kong Sports Institute to make way for equestrian events, which will be held here as part of the 2008 Olympics.

The Kai Tak site, which currently houses a small golf course and a mountain of landfill, has been largely unused since the airport moved to Chek Lap Kok in July 1998 and its fate has been debated for years.

A plan to use it for a vast sports complex has been discussed since the city first decided to move the airport in the early 1990s.

Poon said in the next six months the government will study financing, operations, and design issues.

[hkskyline]

Wake-up call for Hong Kong as Dubai shows the way forward
15 March 2009
South China Morning Post

Envy might be one of the seven deadly sins, but you could pardon the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union for its covetous looks as it casts its eyes on the riches Dubai had to offer for last week's World Cup Sevens.

Having been told by the government it will have to wait until 2021 before a new sports hub will be completed at the former Kai Tak airport site - one which would include a new stadium - rugby officials could only pine for the facilities available to the 40 teams who converged on the desert arena, 70km outside the city of Dubai.

The Sevens, as it is called, might not be the most visually attractive stadium in the world. At first sight, it looks like a half-completed building site. The naked scaffolding which holds up the banks of seats is ugly. The pitch is far-removed from the fans. This is no aesthetically pleasing Bird's Nest, or even Hong Kong Stadium.

But what it makes up for in lack of grandeur is the practical nature of the complex, which includes seven top-grade pitches, all of them floodlit, and any one of which would put to shame the surface at Hong Kong Stadium.

Our pride at So Kon Po looks good on the outside. But at its core, it is rotten. The slippery surface is a nightmare for players. From the very outset, the pitch has come in for criticism. The sand-based turf has never been ideal for rugby, or for that matter football. Last November's Bledisloe Cup showed up the pitch, warts and all.

No wonder the HKRFU was salivating at the superb grass pitches at The Sevens. There, out in the desert, in the middle of nowhere, the Dubai authorities have almost overnight come up with a high-quality playing surface that came in for praise from all the teams. The conditions were fast. If this was horse racing, the going would have been rated as very good.

But this wasn't all there was to see. Apart from a solid heart, all the peripheries were state-of-the-art, which led HKRFU executive director Allan Payne to label it the "ultimate stadium for sevens rugby".

One of the main attractions was the 16 changing rooms available to the teams. Compare this to the paltry four at Hong Kong Stadium and you realise the disparity between the two facilities.

"Our stadium is tired," said a wistful Payne. "While it has served us well, it is difficult to run a major tournament with the facilities we have now."

The Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens in two weeks will once again highlight the drawbacks. All the teams, who enjoyed the very best in Dubai, will undoubtedly start comparing the two venues while they are crammed in like sardines.

During the preliminary round, you will find six teams sharing a single changing room. Put it another way, there will be almost 400 players and officials sharing four rooms.

At the end of every Sevens, the organisers get report cards from the participants, from the players to International Rugby Board officials. The changing rooms are always the bugbear for the players. "They say everything is great about the Hong Kong Sevens apart from the changing rooms," says Payne.

Dubai also offers the players rooms with beds and mattresses where they can snooze. The "quiet" rooms are a hit with the players as are the video-analysis rooms and the hospitality area, where the players can eat and drink in air-conditioned comfort.

The biggest asset Dubai has over Hong Kong is space. They just don't have to worry about size restrictions. With so much real estate out there waiting to be reclaimed from the desert sands, the Gulf state has the luxury of building oversized facilities at will, unlike space-restricted Hong Kong.

But Payne said the HKRFU had plans to circumvent the space issue, and hoped the government would be amenable to its ideas to bring more comfort to the players.

"We have got a few ideas to improve conditions at Hong Kong Stadium. We will have to cope with it for the next few years until Hong Kong gets the new sports hub in Kai Tak. I'm sure these ideas will benefit other sports like football too," Payne said.

Critics might point out there is no need for an upgrade at So Kon Po as it is only in full use once a year during the Sevens. But that is just the point: if facilities were streamlined, wouldn't it help football put on a better show?

To wait a further 12 years for a showcase stadium at Kai Tak to be built is a huge injustice, not only to rugby, but to all sports in general. The government's decision to include the sports hub in the final phase of development once again shows how little emphasis it places on sport.

We are all to blame for this lack of respect to sport. If it comes last on the priority list of the government, it doesn't even fall on the radar of the media. Just take the annual Newspaper Society Awards, which over the years has never handed out a prize to sports per se.

The media Oscars this past week heralded all the good writing and reportage for everything from news stories to business and feature writing. But it simply ignores sport. Why? Is it because sport writing is infra dig in Hong Kong? They have a category for sports news photos, with the SCMP winning a runner-up award for a photo of a Shaheen versus Valley hockey match, where you can see Hong Kong international Asghar Ali in full flow. But the written word is ignored. Perhaps a picture is worth a 1,000 words.

But this is the malaise which runs deep throughout Hong Kong in general. If sport isn't recognised by the media themselves, how can we expect the government to do the same?

Luckily, it is not the same in other parts of the world - like Dubai, which has realised sport can play a huge role in the modern-day economies of countries by fostering sports tourism. By the time Hong Kong wakes up to this idea, we will be far behind.

[S.T.Y AP]

the render is very smoll!

[Mo Rush]

Telstra Stadium...with a retractable roof?

[hkskyline]

Here's an excerpt from the Civil Engineering and Development Department in July 2006 :
http://www.epd.gov.hk/eia/register/p...est/esb152.pdf

Sports Hub at North Apron West
With great support from the sports community and the local community including
district councils, a multi-purpose sports stadium complex will be the anchor of Kai
Tak Development. The complex will be composed of a main stadium with a
retractable roof and 45,000 seats, a secondary stadium with 5,000 seats, an indoor
sports arena with 4,000 seats and other leisure and recreation facilities. The Main
Stadium will be the new icon of Victoria Harbour. The development of Sports Hub
in Kai Tak will be a major impetus to regeneration of To Kwa Wan and Kowloon
City, while offering sports and recreation opportunities to the local communities.

[Angsa]

My question is, what are they building the stadium by 2021 for? I am all for building a new stadium, but why build it by 2021? Are we building it so we can host the Asian Games in 2022 or something? If not why are we waiting that long? Why can't we have it in 5 years?

Why do we need a secondary stadium for 5,000? Why an indoor stadium for 4,000? Where did they get these figures from? If we want to host an NBA game, an indoor stadium with 20,000 seats is probably required. Even for tennis, we should be looking at 10,000.

[Jim856796]

They should also up the ante by increasing the capacity of the main stadium to 60,000. We already have two good indoor stadiums (the Coliseum and the AsiaWorld Expo Arena), but their capacities are below 15,000. Although I'm not sure that Hong Kong needs to build an 18,000-24,000-capacity indoor stadium anytime soon. Hong Kong has very limited space for an international sports centre and Kai Tak is the only place it will be built in. So it is either Kai Tak or nothing at all.

[NMAISTER007]

Hong Kong is a fascinating city, I can't wait to see this stadium being built there

[FrankCostello]

[CharlieP]

Rugby World Cup Limited has recommended that Japan's bid to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup should be accepted (the final decision will be made on 28 July). This bid involves playing five games in Hong Kong.

[Angsa]

Originally Posted by CharlieP

Rugby World Cup Limited has recommended that Japan's bid to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup should be accepted (the final decision will be made on 28 July). This bid involves playing five games in Hong Kong.

Japan has been award the hosting rights of the 2019 Rugby World Cup with Hong Kong and Singapore as proposed host cities.

I have just written an email to the Development Bureau asking them to speed up the construction of the Kai Tak Stadium so it can be used as the host venue for the 2019 RWC. I really don't think Hong Kong Stadium, by then 25 years old, will be adequate for the RWC.

[CharlieP]

Originally Posted by Angsa

Japan has been award the hosting rights of the 2019 Rugby World Cup with Hong Kong and Singapore as proposed host cities.

I have just written an email to the Development Bureau asking them to speed up the construction of the Kai Tak Stadium so it can be used as the host venue for the 2019 RWC. I really don't think Hong Kong Stadium, by then 25 years old, will be adequate for the RWC.

The IRB still has to give permission for games to be played outside Japan.

[BobDaBuilder]

Rugby is played to a reasonable level in China? Do not think I have ever met a Chinese over 6 foot tall. They would really get seriously hurt playng rugby. This game is not table tennis.