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Written by: Liu Yanwen
2021-04-28 19:58
Last update date: 2021-04-28 19:58
The leisure and sports facilities of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department have been in short supply for a long time, and problems such as "market speculation" and "chicken holding" are not uncommon.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced earlier (April 16) that it will implement new measures next month to prevent "market speculation"-if an individual or group "drops the bottom" twice within 30 consecutive days, their booking qualifications will be suspended for three months and Cancel the priority booking qualification for six months.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department may regard this as a major measure to solve the "market speculation." However, the authorities have ignored that the problem lies in the lack of sports venues in Hong Kong.
The SAR government hopes to use penalties to solve the problem, but the fault is not the citizens, but the loopholes in the planning of sports venues in Hong Kong-not only is it far from meeting the basic requirements of the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, but it has long been unable to catch up. What the citizens need.
In other words, what the government should protect is the citizens' right to use recreational and sports venues, and what the government should solve is to re-plan the recreational and sports land.
The government has always threatened to attach importance to the development of local sports and has set the criteria for sports to be "popularized, elite, and event-oriented."
In order to "popularize" local sports, the LCSD will launch different sports classes every month, such as badminton and swimming. Most of the activities are cheaply charged, and some are even provided for free.
The government also provides subsidies to various sports associations, and also helps them organize community activities to promote sports projects to attract public participation.
After the government's "urging the valley", people have indeed increased their interest in sports in recent years, but it has also led to a surge in demand for recreational and sports venues. Most of them are already in short supply, leading to frequent chaos such as "market speculation" and "chicken holding".
Undeniably, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has repeatedly revised the booking method and even introduced real-name bookings, but it has not been able to stop the "scalper party."
In recent years, the public's demand for recreational and sports venues has soared, causing chaos such as "market speculation" to occur frequently when the demand exceeds supply.
(Photo by Huang Yongjun)
One of the most common practices is that speculators deliberately do not show up after booking a venue, allowing buyers to make up the venue after use.
The LCSD’s forthcoming rules for booking venues require reservations to be cancelled one day before if they do not use the venue. The LCSD will release the venue at 1:00 am the next day to make up the venue time slot, allowing the public to start at 7:30 am the same day. Booking.
It is true that the situation of "chicken enforcement" will be reduced due to the new code, but this will not reduce the situation of "speculation", and it is more likely to make it worse.
This is because speculators have a great opportunity to raise prices and provide buyers with signing services before making settlements. Because of the huge demand for venues, I believe most people are willing to "hard food" to speculate and make reservations.
It is not difficult to foresee that the problem will not be resolved, and only Hong Kong citizens who are keen on sports will suffer.
If it wants to put an end to "market speculation," the government must first review the shortage of venues and even the planning of the entire recreational and sports facilities.
Multipurpose recreation and sports venues of the
popular project site supply reduction
Each sports venue under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department is set up as a multi-purpose venue, and the design will reduce the number of venues that can be rented.
Multi-purpose sports venues can undoubtedly reduce land use, but it is one of the major factors causing "market speculation."
Although many sports events share the same venue, such as a football field that can be used for cricket, rugby, baseball, etc., the integration of badminton courts with basketball courts, squash courts and activity rooms in indoor stadiums will result in several Demand for the supply of sports venues has decreased.
Take badminton courts and basketball courts as examples. If an indoor gymnasium has been reserved for a badminton court, the basketball court will be completely unavailable; similarly, if it is booked as a basketball court during this time period, none of the four badminton courts in the venue will be used.
Badminton and basketball are relatively popular sports, and the public's demand is naturally stronger. However, the government's site planning has reduced their supply, creating business opportunities invisibly for speculators.
Many sports venues are set up as multi-purpose venues, which in disguise reduces the number of venues that can be rented.
(Photo by Huang Yongjun)
In addition, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department allows registered sports organizations to preferentially rent sports venues. As a result, many venues have been long-term leased by organizations. The general public can only choose from the remaining venues and time.
When it is difficult for them to reserve venues through normal channels, they begin to put their hopes on the "scalpers".
It is undeniable that sports organizations will indeed have greater demand for recreational and sports venues than the general public. However, if all venues are opened to the general public and organizations to "snap the venues" together, the organizations will definitely have an advantage over the general public, and speculators will also increase their rental by groups. The possibility of "speculation".
Planning guidelines outdated
government since the last century No modification
The supply of recreational venues is in short supply, and the problem is improper planning.
The planning of sports venues in Hong Kong is based on the "Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines" (hereinafter referred to as "Planning Standards"). "Hong Kong 01" calculated the ratio of sports facilities to the population of various bureaus under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department three years ago. The number of venues at the time did not meet the ratio specified in the guidelines.
Hong Kong has only added two stadiums in the past three years. With a population of 7.47 million at the beginning of 2021, each stadium needs to serve an average of 75,400. Although it is slightly higher than the 76,400 three years ago, it is still lower than the plan. The ratio recommended by the Standard.
The most absurd thing is that the "Planning Standards" were formulated in the last century. Hong Kong has gone through more than two decades of personnel changes. The standards set at that time are already outdated, but the government is now unable to meet this outdated standard.
At present, each gymnasium needs to serve an average of 75,400 citizens, which is far below the "Planning Standards" formulated in the last century.
(Photo by Ou Jiale)
Wu Meiqin, a professor at the Department of Geography and Resource Management of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that there is no established procedure for the changes to the "Planning Standards". Need more flexibility for investigation and research?” The Planning Standards pointed out, “Although the government agrees that recreational activities are indispensable activities and must be allocated land, the government also knows that many dynamic recreational activities can be carried out without special allocation of land. "In other words, the government does not have to allocate land for all recreational activities. For this statement, Wu Meiqin stated that sports are an indispensable part of a civilized society, and citizens’ healthy living habits can bring benefits and help to society. Reduce other government expenditures, and many sports cannot be done at home, so recreational and sports venues are a necessity in society.
Wu Meiqin believes that if we want to improve the problem of recreation and sports venues, we must first have big data for analysis, and then we can "adjust measures to local conditions". "Before improving work and housing average, we need to know where people will be at work. It’s better to use these facilities near the place of residence. When we find a suitable place for these facilities, it depends on the different conditions of each district.” She said that the government is theoretically responsible for updating the Planning Standards, so they should Follow up the exercise habits of citizens in each district, so that they can have data to plan the land for recreation and sports.
Regarding the issue of "market speculation", Wu Meiqin pointed out that there is no data showing that "market speculation" is directly related to the shortage of sports venues. Before big data is available for research, the government should increase penalties and reduce "market speculation". .
But this is only a "temporary cure" method, and it cannot really solve the problem.
If the government intends to improve the quality of citizens' exercise, they are absolutely obliged to complete data research as soon as possible and adjust the "Planning Standards" in accordance with the population in due course.
Kai Tak sports park planning extremely important
Mo reduced business infrastructure
Regarding the lack of sports venues, the government is even more important to the planning of the Kai Tak Sports Park to be completed in 2023.
The Kai Tak Sports Park is a large-scale sports infrastructure in Hong Kong. The government has been planning the park under the name of "event-oriented". In addition to the main stadium, indoor stadium and public sports arena, there are also many commercial facilities and retail spaces.
Although the project is funded and constructed by the government, New World Development Co., Ltd. is responsible for the design, construction, and operation of the project 20 years after its completion.
With the current plan, it will inevitably make people question whether the park will eventually become a commercial infrastructure instead of being widely used by the public.
According to a 2016 public survey conducted by the Home Affairs Bureau on the planning of sports parks with citizens, 85% of the respondents "agree" or "strongly agree" that sports parks should be convenient for citizens to exercise and provide public space; another 72% most hope Participate in ball games and recreational activities in the indoor gymnasium.
The survey shows that the public has certain expectations for the sports park. The government should plan the venue before the completion of the park, including who should give priority to the venue in addition to competitions, and whether the fees charged by the park operated by a private company will be the same as the venues under the management of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The same wait.
Although the Kai Tak Sports Park was funded and constructed by the government, it was designed, constructed and operated by New World Development Co., Ltd.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei)
Furthermore, the government has plans to rebuild the Hong Kong Stadium and demolish the Wan Chai Sports Ground as a venue for exhibitions after the Kai Tak Sports Park is built, but this will only increase the burden on the Sports Park.
The government should not place the responsibility for the development of sports on a single park. Instead, it needs to make plans for all sports venues in Hong Kong.
The Kai Tak Sports Park is only one of the solutions to the shortage of venues. After the opening of the Kai Tak Sports Park, the LCSD will also start to plan to build different recreational and sports facilities in various districts. Otherwise, no matter how heavy the penalty is, there will only be business opportunities. The problem of "field" will continue to appear.
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