All fired up as sports park right on track

It is clear from Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's social media post that the HK$30 billion Kai Tak Sports Park due to open in the first quarter of next year is a major piece of the recovery jigsaw puzzle that his administration is trying to put together to overcome the economic challenges facing the city.

Lee visited the venue last week, accompanied by members of an inter-departmental task force led by Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki.

They were given an in-depth guided tour with staff updating Lee and his team on the complex's impressive progress.

The good news is that the multi-billion-dollar sports complex - awarded to a subsidiary of New World Development and NWS Holdings for design, construction and operation - is largely complete in accordance with the timetable.

This alone is an achievement since any project as massive as this would be vulnerable to delays, and the project being completed on time shows once again that where there's a will, there's a way.

Covid posed a major challenge to New World and, in order to maintain progress, foreign labor was imported despite concerns voiced by local trade unionists to make up a shortfall in workers during the pandemic.

Following the announcement that the opening of the sports park was within sight, there was more good news when Lee dropped the hint that he would reveal more about it in his upcoming policy address in October.

What will he say? Although it is open to speculation at this early stage, it is hoped that Lee can devote one or two paragraphs of the important speech to filling up the sports park's calendar with events - both big and small - to ensure it is kept busy.

There is no doubt that the opening will be a grand event, particularly if it is set against a fireworks display to evoke images of the grand opening of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 when the opening spectacular at the Bird's Nest Stadium lit up the skies.

KTSPL, the New World subsidiary, might also consider inviting renowned Chinese movie director Zhang Yimou to direct the opening ceremony.

The event has to be grand as it has the full potential to be a truly mega event in its own right.

It will draw crowds of visitors from the mainland and elsewhere to marvel at the show and kick off events to benefit local restaurants, retailers and hoteliers.

But it must be carefully planned as even a minor mistake could lead to negative publicity.

However, the biggest challenges are longer term and the operator must maintain a constant stream of activities to keep the facilities in constant active use.

The government must give KTSPL full ongoing support as the mega facilities are closely tied to the administration's recovery plan to create synergy between sports, entertainment and tourism.

As we have seen all too often, the brutal challenges facing many cities that had hosted the Olympics were not about the spectacular games themselves but how to turn first-class stadiums and pools into economic drivers over the long term.