Fears eased over dearth of show venues

Legislative Council members called on the government to set up a development outline for the construction of stadiums in new development areas to ensure there are sufficient performance venues after the reconstruction of the Kowloonbay International Trade and Exhibition Center.

However, the government said the plan had to be "carefully considered" out of concern the outline might commit the government too far into the future.

Legco member Ma Fung-kwok said that with a change of ownership at Sunbeam Theatre and the reconstruction of KITEC, Hong Kong stood to lose five private performance venues.

An outline on performance venue development, he said, was needed to address the potential industry impact.

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said the current trend is to allow more flexibility in planning, where commercial zones could also accommodate entertainment usage.

Regarding the current 3,600-seat Star Hall at KITEC, Linn said it would be the landowner's decision whether to provide a similar facility in the redevelopment.

The government tended toward flexible planning, she said, allowing entertainment usage in commercial zones.

"The relevant outline zoning plan stipulates that a gross floor area of not less than about 11,300 square meters shall be provided for exhibition-related uses within a development, " Linn said.

She said currently KITEC's provision of exhibition-related floor area complies with the requirement.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said a number of companies are planning to rent the main stadium of the Kai Tak Sports Park, set to open next year.

Yeung said officials will monitor demand for large-scale performance venues, noting that venues like the Hong Kong Coliseum and Queen Elizabeth Stadium were almost fully booked in 2023-24.

He said the government welcomes large-scale shows by more international superstars and groups and will plan to build more and larger outdoor performance venues if needed.

Last year, he said, there were about two internationally renowned singers holding large-scale concerts in Hong Kong on average each month, with each one attended by over 10,000 people, and most artists had more than one concert.

"Kai Tak Sports Park has so far made contact with over 200 local and international sports and non-sports events' promotion bodies, organizations and agencies, among which around 50 of them have expressed interest in utilizing the facilities at the Kai Tak Sports Park and are learning about the leasing arrangements," Yeung said.