Opinion | Hong Kong Sevens proved jewel in city’s sporting crown still has life – now it needs vision for the future
- The scaled-down Sevens reappeared after three years and showed it has a formula that still works, but more is needed going forward
- A few veteran Sevens watchers fear the soul of the event will be lost when it leaves its current home in the heart of Hong Kong Island
Some folks were just not buying the hastily arranged, localised and downsized version of this Hong Kong Sevens that was being held in November for the first time in forever.
What’s the point, they shrugged. It looks nothing like the event I loved in days of yore. Maybe I’ll come back next April in the regular slot. But for now, no thanks.
Frankly, you can’t blame them for that sentiment. An event like this has become so indelibly etched in the sporting consciousness, not only around here but abroad as well, that it will always compete against its past.
But I didn’t have the time, or the guts, to dwell on the past this weekend and not just because the practical sensibilities in the new Hong Kong frown on it.
While the Sevens will always honour tradition, they are not enslaved by it and they really can’t afford to be either because their shiny new playpen across the harbour in the Kai Tak Sports Hub awaits.
A state-of-the-art 50,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof and flexible pitch surface, a few issues have apparently pushed the move-in date back to 2025. But more than a few veteran Sevens watchers fear the soul of the event will be lost when it leaves its current home in the heart of Hong Kong Island. However, as mentioned many times, this event has outgrown its current home.
The question going forward now becomes, how do you pump 150,000 people over a three-day period into this modern palace when barely half that showed up over the course of this entire weekend.
The answer is pretty obvious: the scope and scale of any event at the new stadium is not sustainable without the international community showing up in droves.
