Plan to cut Hong Kong Stadium capacity from 40,000 to just 9,000 still up for discussion, officials say
- Proposed redevelopment of site would see running track added and capacity slashed, but government says nothing set in stone
- Wan Chai District Council shown plans for changes but fears emerge over fate of track and field facilities near harbour
The proposed redevelopment of Hong Kong Stadium which would dramatically reduce its seating capacity by 31,000 was still open for discussion, a government official said on Tuesday.
Yuen Hing-keung, the chief leisure manager who presented the plan at a meeting of Wan Chai District Council, said the redevelopment was still in its initial stage and could be changed after consultation with other stakeholders, such as the sports associations and schools.
Any changes to the ground, which hosts the Hong Kong Sevens, would not begin until after the completion of the Kai Tak Sports Park, which is expected to be ready by 2023.
“We examined two models of the seating capacity for the redevelopment plan, one is 9,000 and the other is 18,000,” the Home Affairs Bureau official said.
“The 9,000 one meets the Environmental Protection Department’s sound pollution requirement, and it will also not make any major effect on the traffic flow of nearby areas.
“However it doesn’t mean that we have decided to reduce the Hong Kong Stadium to 9,000 seats under the redevelopment plan. We will conduct a technical feasibility study by the Architectural Department soon before we can get more concrete figures.
“There are in fact many considerations, such as how to best use the land for redevelopment, height restriction of the buildings and some underground constraints. Also we have to consider providing more working space for the adjacent Olympic House under the redevelopment plan.”
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Last week, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department submitted a proposal for the councillors to take note of the redevelopment plan.
It includes reducing the facility’s capacity from 40,000 seats to 9,000, reinstalling a 400-metre running track which was removed at the last redevelopment of the So Kon Po venue in 1994, a new multipurpose meeting room, media room, changing facilities, first aid room, doping testing facility and public parking.
The public would also be able to use the facilities for sports activities such as football, rugby, athletics and running on the track when there was no major event being held at the stadium.
But the district councillors were not happy, and questioned why they had not been told about the proposed redevelopment or consulted.
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They also wondered whether the plan for Hong Kong Stadium meant that Wan Chai Sports Ground was under threat.
But Yuen said there would not be any changes to the track and field facility, which would continue to be used for athletics training and top level competitions.
Pui Kwan-kay, the chairman of the Hong Kong Football Association, said earlier they had no objection to the redevelopment plan, especially as it would only begin after the opening of the Kai Tak Sports Park in 2023.
“We think 9,000 seats would be fit for local football games as we seldom have attendance of over 10,000 crowds,” Pui said. “But of course we can have more seats for other major international events when Kai Tak is not available for some specific reasons. This is open for discussions with the authorities.”
