'Greedy' officials taking too big a slice of the revenue cake

The claim from First Division football club Kitchee that they are finding themselves at a competitive disadvantage in their attempt to attract one of Europe's top clubs to Hong Kong has highlighted the issue of the hefty chunk of the revenue pie the government claims from major sporting events.

The Hong Kong Football Association estimates the government's charge of 20 per cent of gross gate receipts, plus a similar one-fifth of revenues from commercial advertising sales, retail and merchandising, put over $9 million into the state coffers from the two showcase matches it arranged against Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Hong Kong Stadium last year.

The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union generates even more from three days of capacity crowds at the annual Hong Kong Sevens. Although the union's executive director, Allan Payne, couldn't give a figure, he did say the Sevens usually made between $5 million and $10 million in profits, so the chunk the government raked in was sizeable to say the least.

'It's a lot of money. It's measured in millions,' Payne said. 'We'd like anything possible to make it less. The hire charge is $150,000 a day, or if the Sevens revenue exceeds a certain band, it's 20 per cent of gross revenue.'

The 20 per cent, which the association claims makes stadium rental in Hong Kong among the more exorbitant in Asia, raises several key issues about the government's sports policy, the broadest of which is what role it is taking in the provision of venues. The association raised the issue with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department at a meeting last week, pointing out that it was not just soccer complaining but almost every sport was unhappy with the situation.

The situation in Hong Kong is problematic because the cost of real estate makes it virtually impossible for anyone else to own and operate a sizeable venue.