An expert group has recommended that the pitch at the Hong Kong Stadium be replaced to save the city a repeat of the international embarrassment of the summer when a soccer match involving Manchester United was almost called off because of the poor state of the grass.
Initial estimates obtained by the group are that the work will take about nine months and cost no more than HK$100 million. The proposals will be tabled for discussion at Friday's meeting of the Legislative Council's home affairs panel.
The recommendations follow a two-month study by the government-appointed group, which comprises local and overseas turf experts and representatives from sports groups and government departments.
Turf experts were called in in late August after the quality of the pitch became a gigantic headache in July during the Barclays Asia Trophy and Manchester United's exhibition match.
The government blamed the problem on heavy rain. The pitch, sodden and muddy after days of torrential downpours and with bald patches in the centre of the field where grass had been kicked up, became an international laughing stock. The pitch was closed for 53 days for emergency repairs and maintenance and reopened on September 21.
Last month the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) said the problem was not caused by the heavy rains but by a burst pipe in the underground sprinkling system.