Jake's View | HKRFU needs to rethink its Sevens ticketing policy
As the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union asks for public money for a new stadium, it will provide fewer Sevens tickets for the public next year
In a move sure to generate a furious reaction from local rugby fans, Hong Kong Sevens organisers have said it is "inevitable" that even fewer tickets will go on sale to the public next year
I shall have to choose my words carefully here. My son, who is currently studying in Australia, is a long-time local rugby club member and a devoted supporter of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union.
But when this year's Hong Kong Sevens saw only 4,000 public sales tickets made available locally for a 40,000 seat stadium, and when HKRFU chairman Trevor Gregory then says "it's just a fact of life" that the figure will be even lower next year, two words come immediately to mind:
What gall!
Here are the facts. In 1994 we presented the union with a brand new stadium for the Sevens. It was so purpose-designed for the Sevens alone that it did not even include a running track to make it usable for local athletic events.
The boosters of this project sold it to the government on the basis that it could still be used for other purposes, including concerts, but didn't bother themselves with even the little research needed to show that noise by-laws would apply as the stadium would be in a residential district.