Kitchee Sports Club boss fears for future training base
Despite assurances from Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying on Monday that the Shek Mun site would still be at the club’s disposal, Ken Ng Kin says he has concerns
The head of Kitchee Sports Club fears the club will be unable to build another training centre if the government takes back the land its current facility in Sha Tin is on.
This is despite assurances from Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying on Monday that the Shek Mun site would still be at the club’s disposal until another suitable place was found.
Anxious coaches, parents and young athletes have been left with uncertainty over the future of the centre’s training programmes, while plans for a sport science centre, may also be thrown into limbo.
Speaking on a radio programme yesterday, Kitchee boss Ken Ng Kin said he feared the club would not be able to find the millions in investment needed to build a new training centre, adding that the potential costs would be much higher than two years ago.
Ng said there had been no hint in 2011 that the leasing agreement was short-term, with some “senior officials” at the Home Affairs Bureau suggesting the club should be able to renew the lease on a yearly basis as long as the facility was well managed.
“This message was very clear. Otherwise, we would not have invested the resources, and the Jockey Club would not have donated that much money in the project,” Ng said, adding that he had not received any official response or any arrangement about future land allocation.
