HONG KONG sport's one-stop shop was officially declared open yesterday at Number One, Stadium Path, So Kon Po, right next to the Hong Kong Stadium. From archery to yachting, athletics to wushu, 34 different National Sports Associations are now housed under one roof. As is the territory's statutory body responsible for promoting sport, the Sports Development Board. And yesterday, the territory's sporting community gathered for the house-warming of their new home - Sports House. Upbeat and full of optimism, all sports leaders hailed the move into the new home as a fresh beginning for Hong Kong sport. ''There is no doubt that Sports House is a major step forward for sport in the territory. It is a flagship for the future . . . and it is also a mark of recognition and respect for the enterprise and endeavour of the past,'' said David Gledhill, chairman of the SDB. ''Sports House is a move forward to putting sports administration on a professional footing'' said John Swaine the Jockey Club's chairman of Stewards. In the same vein, James So, Secretary for Recreation and Culture, said: ''All major bodies involved in the development of sports will be able to work together as a family under one roof. I am sure sports will stand to benefit.'' With the three major players in Hong Kong sport - the SDB, the moneymen (Jockey Club), and the government - sharing the same sentiments, it seems that sports in Hong Kong can only move forward. Coming in the wake of the recent integration of the SDB and the Hong Kong Sports Institute, Sports House is perhaps a further testament to the streamlining of sports in the territory. As it has drawn the sporting fraternity under one roof, it offers scope for better communication, and will also become the centre for seminars, conferences and exhibitions. Besides office space the three-storey building comprises a 303-seat lecture theatre, seven conference rooms and a state-of-the-art boardroom with simultaneous interpretation service.
