Exclusive | Kai Tak Arena was warned snooker curfew would affect Hong Kong’s image: source
Snooker bosses and officials from Kai Tak Sports Park could have avoided embarrassing incident altogether, source tells the Post
The incident at the World Grand Prix where Hong Kong snooker fans were kicked out while a match was in progress could have been avoided entirely, the Post has learned, sparing the city from an embarrassing episode that made headlines around the world.
A source said officials and organisers had been arguing for a month about the imposition of a curfew on events at Kai Tak Sports Park, the city’s prized new sporting facility, and had been warned that forcing fans to leave early could damage the city’s reputation.
But five days after a first-round match between Kyren Wilson and Matthew Selt was halted so fans could be removed some time around 11.15pm, no one has yet taken responsibility for the fiasco or explained how it happened in the first place.
Nor has anyone clarified when the curfew was first imposed, who imposed it and why, given the HK$30 billion complex is the planned venue for events guaranteed to run late into the evening.
KTSP has failed to respond to numerous requests for comment from the Post, while Simon Brownell, the World Snooker Tour CEO, did his best to minimise the incident saying he did not believe it would be too detrimental to the city or the tournament.
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Sources with knowledge of the discussions said an 11pm curfew was first communicated to the organisers of the snooker tournament by KTSP as early as last month.