Tai Po Sports Ground () is a

sports ground A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term ''pitch'' is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field. For most sports t ...

located in

Tai Po Tai Po is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It refers to the vicinity of the traditional market towns in the area presently known as Tai Po Old Market or Tai Po Kau Hui () (the original "Tai Po Market") on the north of Lam Tsue ...

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

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 ...

. It was the home stadium of

Hong Kong Premier League The Hong Kong Premier League () is a Hong Kong professional football league organised by the Hong Kong Football Association. It is currently sponsored by BOC Life and officially known as BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League (). The inaugural seaso ...

club

History

Tai Po Sports Ground staged its first ever Hong Kong First Division game on 30 September 2006, when

played

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

. Despite losing 2–3, all 2,020 tickets for the match were sold out. After the game, the stadium was determined to be unsuitable for future First Division games. Refurbishment work begun in 2007 to upgrade the facilities, including refurbishing the changing rooms, building corporate boxes, installing new goal posts and replanting the grass, such that Tai Po would be allowed play all of their home games during the 2007-08 season at the stadium. The work costed the

Leisure and Cultural Services Department The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), is a department in the Government of Hong Kong. It reports to the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. It provides leisure and cultural ...

HK$1 million.

2007–08 season

On 3 August 2007, the

Hong Kong Football Association The Hong Kong Football Association Limited (), often abbreviated to the HKFA, is the governing body of association football in Hong Kong. Its current chairman is Pui Kwan Kay and its Chief Executive Officer is Joaquin Tam. History The HKFA was ...

agreed to allow Tai Po to play 9 games at the Tai Po Sports Ground in the 2007-08 season, regardless whether the games are home or away. There were likely to be other first division matches for two other clubs at the ground on the same days as well. But after the pre-season pitch examination, the HKFA decided that it was not up to standard for First Division matches and thus no matches were to be held at the ground.

2008–09 season

250px, Tai Po hosts TSW Pegasus at Tai Po Sports Ground in a 2008-09 Hong Kong First Division League game. With a potential 13 teams competing in the 2008-09 season, the HKFA determined that

Mong Kok Stadium Mong Kok Stadium () is a stadium in Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. With a capacity of 6,664 (comprising four stands of 1,666), it hosts Hong Kong Premier League football matches, with Southern and Kitchee currently sharing the venue. The stadium ...

's pitch would not be able to handle the large number of games scheduled there and once again, suggested the use of Tai Po Sports Ground for Tai Po's home games. The HKFA's schedule for the first half of the 2008-09 season has shown that Tai Po has been granted the rights to play six of its home games here. On 13 September 2008, Tai Po played its second ever home game at the sports ground against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. 1,136 fans attended the game. Tai Po won 2–1. On 27 December 2008, Tai Po played host to

and 2,520 spectators attended the game, setting a new record for the sports ground.

Transport

The stadium is located near Tai Wo station, a 10–15 minute walk away.

Gallery

Image: HK TaiPoSportsGround2.JPG, Tai Po Sport Ground Image: HK_TaiPoSportsGround_MainStand.JPG, Main Grandstand Image: HK_TaiPoSportsGround_SubStand.JPG, Grandstand behind goal Image: HK_TaiPoSportsGround_Screen.JPG, Electronic scoreboard Image: HK_TaiPoSportsGround_Squash&TennisCentre.JPG, Squash and tennis centres Image:TPSG 03.jpg, Seats in the grandstand Image:TPSG kiosk.jpg, Fast food kiosk

References

External links

Official website
{{Sports venues in Hong Kong Tai Po Sports venues in Hong Kong Football venues in Hong Kong 1992 establishments in Hong Kong