Hong Kong's biggest sports venue breaks ground

Special: Greater Bay Area

(ECNS) - The groundbreaking ceremony for Kai Tak Sports Park was held on Tuesday, signaling commencement of the construction on Hong Kong's biggest sports venue.

Kai Tak Sports Park is the Government's most important investment in sports infrastructure in recent decades, and when completed it will be the largest multi-purpose sports venue in Hong Kong and a new landmark that provides world-class facilities, Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said at the ceremony.

Hong Kong's current major sports facilities are mainly Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong Coliseum and Queen Elizabeth Stadium built in the 1980s and 1990s.

Those venues cannot meet the requirements of large sports events and Kai Tak Sports Park will attract a bigger roster of regional and international sports events to the city, a development in line with the city's drive to strengthen the role of Hong Kong as a host to Asian sports, Carrie Lam said.

The former home to Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon, the 28-hectare site will be developed into an urban oasis integrating sports venues with retail, wellness, recreational and community facilities. The Indoor Sports Centre will have 10,000 seats, 80 percent of them retractable or removable.

Taking center stage at Kai Tak Sports Park will be the Main Stadium, with a “Pearl of the Orient” fa?ade design theme. Able to accommodate 50,000 spectators, it will have a retractable roof and be well-suited to host a myriad of sports events in any weather.

The stadium’s pitch can be flexibly switched among different surfaces for specific events. A vast activity platform will be set against a panoramic glass wall that provides exceptional views of the scenic harbor front.

The Kai Tak Development project was initiated in 2007 as one of Hong Kong’s 10 major infrastructure projects. It later underwent revisions with participation of the public. The initial technical feasibility study of the project was completed in 2012. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2023. 

HKSAR Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah and Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, president of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, also attended the groundbreaking ceremony.