‘World-class’ Kai Tak Sports Park ready but other Hong Kong venues ‘need upgrades’: Yeung

The head of National Games coordination office says city’s Coliseum, which opened in 1981, needs work

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Yeung Tak-keung, head of the National Games Coordination Office, with Games mascots Lerongrong (left) and Xiyangyang at his offices in Wan Chai. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 8:00am, 20 Feb 2025Updated: 2:41pm, 20 Feb 2025

Hong Kong may have a “world-class stadium” at Kai Tak but another of the city’s venues needs a significant upgrade, the man tasked with ensuring the smooth running of the National Games has told the Post.

Kai Tak Sports Park will host its first official test event for November’s Games this weekend, with a two-day handball tournament involving teams from Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau – who are co-hosting the multi-sport competition – along with Jiangsu.

And while officials still needed time to familiarise themselves with a venue Yeung Tak-keung said rivalled any of similar size around the world, there were no concerns over its readiness for the occasion.

However, the same could not be said of the Hong Kong Coliseum, Yeung, the head of the city’s National Games coordination office, added.

The decades-old arena, which opened in 1981, will play host to men’s under-22 basketball in November, and will stage a test event on April 26 and 27 – a week after track cycling test events at the Hong Kong Velodrome.

Kai Tak Arena will host its first official test event for the National Games this weekend. Photo: Nora Tam

“The Coliseum has not staged any mega basketball events for years; it is an old arena with a lot of facilities that need to be renovated or upgraded,” the former commissioner for sports said. “We are talking about the floor, the basketball stands and many other basic facilities to see if it is up to the standard of hosting a big tournament.”