MacPherson Stadium () was an indoor stadium that played an important role to the development of youth recreation in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. Located at Yim Po Fong Street, on the edge of

Mong Kok Mong Kok (also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK) is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok. Mong Kok is one of the major shopping areas in Hong Kong. The area is characterised ...

, a high population density area, it had a capacity of 1,850. Macpherson Playground Redevelopment Site 201011

The stadium was within Queen Elizabeth II Youth Centre (). It was adjacent to the Macpherson Playground () which has a football pitch and acts as a gathering place for youth. The stadium was managed by the

Hong Kong Playground Association The Hong Kong Playground Association (HKPA) is a Hong Kong not for profit organisation. It was incorporated as a statutory corporation, under the Hong Kong Playground Association Ordinance. However, the association was classified as a subvented n ...

. It hosted the official 1983 Asian Basketball Championship.

Name

On 4May 1929, the Hong Kong Government founded the Playing Fields Committee to provide social welfare services to local children, J. L. McPherson being among the founding members. On 4 May 1933, when the Children's Playgrounds Association became a reality, McPherson was named Honorary Secretary.

John Livingstone McPherson John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(1874-1947) had been a missionary assigned to Hong Kong from Canada, working for the

YMCA of Hong Kong YMCA of Hong Kong was established in 1901 as a charitable organization in Hong Kong, headquartered in Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. It is dedicated to the furtherance of justice, peace, hope and truth in the Hong Kong and international c ...

from 1905 to 1935. At his retirement, appreciation was shown for the work he had done in Hong Kong, among which was the founding of the Children's Playground. Macpherson left for Canada in 1935, but lived out the remainder of his life in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England and died there in 1947.

History

The stadium was opened by the Governor Sir Alexander Grantham on 7 September 1953, while the foundation stone was laid by the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...

. It held its last basketball tournament in October 2008 and was demolished for a residential complex and a new indoor stadium.

Redevelopment

The site was redeveloped into MacPherson Place, a complex comprising the new MacPherson Stadium (), a youth centre, and two residential towers (1A and 1B), collectively named MacPherson Residence (). Developed by Kowloon Development and the Hong Kong Playground Association, it comprises 293 apartments. The address of MacPherson Place is 38 Nelson Street. The foundation stone of its predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II Youth Centre, has been preserved within.

References

External links

Website of the new Macpherson Stadium

Website of MacPherson Residence
* {{Authority control Former buildings and structures in Hong Kong Mong Kok Sports venues in Hong Kong Taekwondo venues Music venues in Hong Kong