Hong Kong's new stadium doesn't need mega-events, just great sports fixtures
I have been a regular at the
Hong Kong Sevens ever since the inaugural event in 1976. Last month's tournament at Kai Tak Sports Park was my fourth different venue.
Advertisement
I still remember that afternoon almost a half-century ago, walking down from my Happy Valley flat to the old Hong Kong Football Club stadium on Sports Road at the suggestion of a neighbour to watch the matches being played. I was immediately hooked and have attended every year since, pandemics permitting.
Not surprisingly as it grew in popularity, the tournament outgrew the Football Club ground and moved to the old Government Stadium in So Kon Po. Even that proved insufficient after a few years and a new one had to be built in situ. Dragages designed and built a fine 40,000-seater. That did us proud for many years, but the world moved on and, eventually, so did we.
The first thing to strike me about the
new facility is the sheer beauty of the structure in engineering terms. Walking in for the first time on the opening Friday night I gasped out loud – it is breathtaking. It makes a bold statement: Welcome to Hong Kong, a world-class city equipped with a world-class venue to stage world-class events.
During the long weekend, I tried out different locations to check the experience from a spectator's perspective. Every angle I tested had an excellent, unobstructed view of the action on the pitch.
Advertisement
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
31-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Top football clubs need to repay Asian fans with value for money
A famous English football club playing in Hong Kong is always a special occasion for the city's fans, who rarely get to watch their heroes perform live. Manchester United, arguably the biggest team in the world, are usually one of the most eagerly anticipated visitors. But they arrived in the city last week under a cloud, at the end of their worst top-flight season in half a century, languishing in 15th place in the English Premier League. United secured victory on Friday, beating a battling Hong Kong select XI 3-1. But the postseason Asian tour has raised questions. The whistle-stop trip at the end of a gruelling season has been criticised amid concerns about the welfare of players facing a punishing schedule. One former footballer described it as 'mad' and a British radio pundit branded the tour 'utterly ridiculous'. Hong Kong supporters, meanwhile, still smarting from the notorious non-appearance of revered superstar Lionel Messi in the city last year, might question whether they received value for money. Ticket prices ranged from HK$1,390 to HK$2,990, significantly higher than the sum I paid to watch United play Arsenal in the premier league.
South China Morning Post
17-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Soccer Sevens: Leicester City shocked in Hong Kong but West Ham into quarters
Hong Kong Football Club took an English Premier League scalp at the HKFC Standard Chartered Soccer Sevens as they dramatically toppled Leicester City on a perfect Saturday for the tournament hosts. A Jonas Sorensen strike with the last kick of the game stunned Leicester, whose senior team were preparing to wave goodbye to legendary centre-forward Jamie Vardy in Sunday's top-flight clash with Ipswich Town. 'It was a great feeling to score against a big club with good players and a huge history,' Sorensen said. There was double joy for Football Club as they then inflicted a 1-0 defeat on AZ Alkmaar, who recently lost only narrowly to Barcelona in the Uefa Youth League semi-finals. Football Club wrapped up their flawless group stage when they beat Hong Kong under-22s 3-1 to book a quarter-final date with West Ham United on Sunday. 'It's another big team – we're looking forward to it,' Sorensen said. 'The support has been amazing, we've done really well so far and we want to keep it going.'
South China Morning Post
16-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong set to be denied young talent who is targeting World Cup with homeland
Hong Kong football chiefs look set to miss out on adding a gifted young attacker to the city's representative team after he targeted playing in World Cups for his native Switzerland. Aaron Keller moved to Hong Kong when he was three months old because of his Swiss father's instructor job with Cathay Pacific. At the age of 12, he left his family behind to follow his dream of becoming a professional footballer at the German Football Boarding School, where he was a teammate of Michael Udebuluzor – the Hong Kong-born striker who now does play for the city. Keller, who while in Hong Kong was a pupil at Peak School and then attended Harrow, said he learned to love the game at Hong Kong Football Club, which he joined aged eight. He is still in touch with his old coaches, Wilfred Wong, Nam Nguyen and Mark Grainger. But he said: 'If I wanted to take football seriously, I had to go to Europe and through their system.' Keller needed around six months to adapt off the field. On it, he was shocked to discover that being 'one of the more talented players in Hong Kong' did not translate into matching Germany's best youngsters, but he improved with high-quality training, coaching and opposition.
