Opinion | Left field: At these prices, HKFA centenary event failed to make the most of Messi and Argentina's presence here
At HK$1m per minute of Messi action, HKFA centenary event failed to make the most of Argentina's presence here
Lionel Messi was in the spotlight for 30 minutes. It cost HK$30 million to bring Argentina to town. So the price for every magical minute of Messi was HK$1 million.
Absurd, I hear some people say. But not for the 20,230 fans at Hong Kong Stadium on Tuesday night, judging by the adulation showered on soccer's greatest current player.
It was exhilarating to watch the great man for that short period. Every touch of the ball was electrifying and you knew something special would happen. The 27-year-old Barcelona star - on Thursday the Catalan club celebrated 10 years of Messi - scored two goals and created one. They were all sublime. His first goal followed a one-two inside the 18-yard box, and the move looked telepathic.
Why wasn't the visit of the world's number two side used to better promote the sport in town?
His second goal was a solo effort where he left three Hong Kong defenders clutching at air before rifling in a low shot which keeper Yapp Hung-fai had zero chance of saving. He was toying with the defenders. The assist was even cheekier, taking the ball to the byline before threading it between the feet of two opponents to give a teammate the easiest of tap-ins.
It was a class act. There was no doubt about that. It was a pity the stadium was only half-full. Why?
The answer which leaps to mind is that HK$1,800 was far too much to pay for the best seats, most of which, bordering the pitch on the lower tiers, were empty.
It is crazy the Hong Kong Football Association, which put on the show to celebrate its 100th anniversary, should ask the public to pay this much. Even to see King Messi, it was excessive. Instead of having a range of prices from HK$490 to HK$1,800, they should have had just two categories - HK$500 for the upper tier and HK$1,000 for the lower tiers - with open seating. In this way a family of four wanting to buy the best seats would have needed to spend only HK$4,000 instead of HK$7,200. The difference of HK$3,200 is significant and almost a 50 per cent saving.
If they had sold 20,000 seats at HK$500 it would have amounted to HK$10 million. If they had sold the balance of seats for HK$1,000, it would have added up to HK$20 million. Voila! The HK$30 million needed to pay Argentina would have been covered.