Hong Kong is exploring plans to turn Victoria Park into a venue capable of hosting larger-scale tennis tournaments under a redevelopment plan that the government says will attract major sports and entertainment events while boosting the local economy.

According to the Policy Address delivered on Wednesday, authorities are exploring the redevelopment of Victoria Park Centre Court and other ancillary facilities into an all-weather, multi-purpose venue.

It would be designed to host larger-scale, higher-level sports events as well as performance events when required.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said on Saturday Victoria Park’s central location and the positive response to last year’s National Games beach volleyball events held there made it a strong candidate.

The success of Kai Tak Sports Park, she added, has shown what a well-connected urban venue can achieve.

"We have several takeaways from the initial stages of Kai Tak Sports Park's opening," Law said.

"First, Victoria Park is also a location in a relatively mature urban area with convenient transport. It turns out that the demand for sports facilities and the synergy are very strong.

Major sporting events can also boost the local district's economy. Under this consideration, it made us feel that Victoria Park is actually a very suitable place."

The government hopes the redeveloped Centre Court and ancillary facilities will be render the site suitable for staging at least ATP 500-level tennis events.

Given sufficient resources, Law said, the venue could be expanded further to host larger events and even serve as a performance space.

Under the initial plan, seating would rise to at least 7,000, with 10,000 seats possible if resources permit.

"We have to at least host ATP 500 events, that is, ranking events with 500 points," Law said.

"But I have an even greater expectation: if resources and the venue size permit, we may even be able to meet the ATP 1000 standard," she said.

"This would be a very big boost for attracting visitors to Hong Kong and provide a good platform for our Hong Kong athletes to have a greater chance, as wild-card entrants, to compete in these top-level tennis events."

Apart from tennis, Law said plans to make the venue an all-weather, multi-purpose facility could also mean it could host basketball, volleyball and other ball sports.

Asked why the five-year plan set a 60 percent target for non-local performances at Kai Tak Sports Park, she said such shows currently accounted for about 40 to 50 percent.

The 60 percent goal reflects the park’s suitability for world-tour-scale performances, she said, noting, however, that Hong Kong has other venues – such as the Hong Kong Coliseum – that can accommodate local performances.






Edited by Azam Khan