Construction of multimillion-dollar national soccer academy delayed
Work won't start on Tseung Kwan O training centre until uncertainty over who will bear running, infrastructure expenses is resolved
Construction of the proposed multimillion-dollar national academy at Tseung Kwan O will be further delayed due to uncertainty over who will bear infrastructure and operating costs.
This delay will have a damaging effect on the new premier league beginning next season, warned a top Hong Kong Football Association official.
"We desperately need these facilities as soon as possible as some of the clubs in the new premier league next season were to use them as their training facilities. It is a far from ideal situation without these [national academy] facilities," said Mark Sutcliffe (pictured), HKFA chief executive.
Although the Hong Kong Jockey Club said it would bear the construction costs, it was uncertain who would take on the economic burden for providing the basic infrastructure for the landfill site, and the maintenance of the facility once it was built.
We had earmarked these facilities to be used by the clubs ... so it is far from ideal
This has resulted in another consultancy study being undertaken, and one which is expected to take a few months to complete.
"We have hired private consultants to look at the whole picture," said a senior Jockey Club source. "Right now, no one seems to know if the budget includes the costs of providing basic infrastructure like roads, water, etc. There is also uncertainty as to how the facility will be managed after it is built. All these questions have to be answered first."
It was estimated earlier this year that construction costs would reach HK$750 million, up from HK$103 million when the academy was first mooted in 2003. It is believed these costs will include providing the basic infrastructure, but who will foot this bill - the government or Jockey Club - is apparently a bone of contention.
"The site is already being serviced by the landfill after-care contractor, while basic road access, water and electrical infrastructure is already available," said Jonathan McKinley, deputy secretary for Home Affairs.
"But the extent to which this needs to be enhanced to cater for the football training centre would be a matter for further study should the Jockey Club make a commitment in principle to support this project."
The HKFA had hoped that construction would start this month, so the project could be completed by 2016, paving the way for four of the 12 teams in the new professional premier league to make use of state-of-the-art facilities. In May, the HKFA submitted its business plan and financial model to the Jockey Club, which now needs more information.
"We know what the Hong Kong Football Association needs in terms of pitches and changing rooms and so on. But we need more answers and more refinement on what has been given to us," said the Jockey Club official. "We also need to know who will run it afterwards and how it will be run - the business perspective."
The Jockey Club is keen to prevent a repeat of what happened at the BMX Park in Gin Drinkers' Bay, Kwai Chung. Built at a cost of HK$20 million by the club for the 2009 East Asian Games, the Hong Kong Cycling Association operated it and apparently faced an annual bill of HK$1 million in maintenance costs. Faced with growing financial problems, the park closed in January. It has now been re-opened.
With the soccer academy being a bigger project, the Jockey Club is keen to get everything right, especially a business plan as to how the eight-pitch facility will be maintained afterwards.
Earlier this year, HKFA chairman Brian Leung Hung-tak estimated it would take around 30 months to complete the project once the Jockey Club gave the green light.
Sutcliffe said: "I was aware that the Jockey Club wanted to engage consultants and that they are concerned about a few things, one being the site master plan and the infrastructure costs. But the time scales as to when it will be completed is beyond our control.
"We had earmarked these facilities to be used by the clubs, but what this delay means is they will have to continue to use their existing training facilities, which are not that good or accessible so it is far from ideal."
