Hong Kong’s biggest sports stadium to have capacity drastically reduced as part of government conversion plan
- Government proposes to convert Hong Kong Stadium, capacity 40,000, into an 8,000-9,000-seater public sports ground
- The stadium’s purpose will largely be supplanted by the new arena at Kai Tak Sports Park, expected to be completed by 2023
Hong Kong Stadium will have around 80 per cent of its 40,000 seats removed as part of a government proposal to redevelop the stadium as a public sports ground.
The proposal drafted by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department noted that the move was partly because a HK$30 billion sports park to be built at the former Kai Tak airport will have a main stadium with 50,000 seats, which, as well as being bigger, will largely fulfil the same function.
The paper will be discussed in a meeting at Wan Chai District Council next Tuesday.
“Large sporting events that are currently held at the stadium will in future be held at the Kai Tak Sports Park,” the department said in the paper, and expected this would largely lower the usage of the existing stadium. Hong Kong Stadium, located at So Kon Po on Hong Kong Island, does not currently have an athletics track to serve as a public sports ground to meet the needs of the local community.
The department also noted that the four existing sports grounds on Hong Kong Island, which serve 1.1 million people exceeded the standard of one sports ground serving 200,000 to 250,000 people as suggested by a government guideline.
