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Opinion | Hong Kong will never be a globally relevant sporting city if it treats sport with such wilful disregard
- When it comes to tournaments and competitions that register beyond the immediate confines of the region, Hong Kong has little to offer
- The city is rushing headlong into sporting irrelevance, with a newly handicapped golf course – and a government that doesn’t seem to care
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The news that the government intends to take back control of a section of Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling, without any clear plan of what to do next, shouldn’t come as a surprise to those of us who have been paying attention to its approach to sports in general.
Giving the Leisure and Cultural Services Department responsibility for a site it has no clue how to manage would be surprising, if it were not entirely in keeping with the city’s ambivalent attitude towards major sporting events.
The new Kai Tak Sports Park is a perfect case in point: a 50,000-seat white elephant waiting-to-happen. With the stadium expected to be fully ready by 2025, all we know right now is that the new retail hall will have enough space for 200 businesses, providing “tourists and citizens with one-stop sports and leisure, entertainment, dining and shopping experiences”.
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Because more shopping is exactly what’s needed in a city where you can’t swing a cat without hitting a Gucci or Tiffany outlet.
When it comes to sporting events, concerts, or any plans for filling the stadium, there is silence. Asked by the Post, the LCSD said it was not its responsibility, while Kai Tak officials have refused to answer any questions on at least five separate occasions.
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