Wan Chai Sports Ground () is a stadium in

Wan Chai North Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area nort ...

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

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 ...

, with a seating capacity of 2,401. It is a government-run sports ground primarily used by local schools for sports days and other athletic activities. Situated by the

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...

, it is at a convenient location next to Hong Kong's

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

business district,

Wan Chai Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...

, and the shopping district of

Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...

Features

The sports ground has an eight-lane, 400 m, all-weather synthetic track with a natural turf infield catering for all track and field events. The measurements and markings of the track are of

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

standards. The running track and jumping track use Conipur M full polyurethane synthetic material and are 13 mm and 20 mm thick respectively. Landing mattresses of 71 cm and 81 cm thick are provided for high jump and pole vault. Also, floodlighting of 450 lux is available.

History

Wan Chai Sports Ground opened in 1979 on reclaimed land. It was originally managed by the

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

, and formed the Wan Chai Reclamation Recreation Centre Stage I (stage II being the adjacent swimming pool and indoor games hall). In 1996, the sports ground was used to help accommodate a queue of nearly 60,000 people seeking British Dependent Territories citizenship at

Immigration Tower Immigration Tower is a skyscraper located in the Wan Chai District of Hong Kong completed in 1990. The tower rises 49 floors and in height. Immigration Tower, which stands as the 93rd-tallest building in Hong Kong, is composed entirely of of ...

prior to the cut-off date of 30 March 1996 ahead of the

handover In cellular telecommunications, handover, or handoff, is the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to the core network to another channel. In satellite communications it is the process of transfe ...

. Part of the north end of the grandstand was demolished as part of the

Sha Tin to Central Link The Sha Tin to Central Link (abbreviated SCL; ) is an extension of the MTR rapid transit network. It is divided into two sections. The first section, named "Tuen Ma line (Phase 1)”, runs from Tai Wai station in the New Territories to Hung ...

project. The railway tunnels will run under the sports ground.

Protest area during MC6

The Wan Chai Sports Ground and the nearby

Wan Chai Cargo Handling Basin The Wan Chai Cargo Handling Basin () is situated in Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. A prime site along Victoria Harbour, it is adjacent to the Wan Chai Sports Ground and located between the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and ...

were designated as protest zones for the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

. The conference, abbreviated as MC6, was held in Hong Kong from 13 to 18 December 2005. Officials expressed concerns that the protesters might destroy the sports ground, which could force a large number of schools to abandon their plans for sporting activities. However, the protest organiser, the

Hong Kong People's Alliance on WTO The Hong Kong People’s Alliance on WTO (HKPA; ) is a grassroots organization that aimed to protest at the WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005 which was held in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai North on 13–18 December 2 ...

, was unhappy with a previous proposed location for demonstrations,

Southorn Playground Southorn Playground is a sports and recreational ground in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. It comprises a football pitch, four basketball courts, and a children's playground. Southorn Playground is bounded by Hennessy Road to the north, Luard Road to ...

, which is blocked by highrises from the venue of the conference, the

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong, along with AsiaWorld–Expo. It is located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbou ...

. In the end, the number of protesters was smaller than expected and were sufficiently accommodated at the cargo handling basin. Hence, the sports ground was not used as a protest site.

HKCEC Phase III

Phase III will be developed on land now occupied by the Wan Chai pier bus terminus and Wan Chai Sports Ground. Although the existing sports facilities will be demolished, the Trade Development Council (TDC) plans to build new sports facilities on top of the HKCEC Phase III structure to serve the public interest.Extension for shows center
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References

External links

Website of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department
{{coord, 22.281288, 114.178022, display=title, format=dms, type:landmark_scale:3000 Wan Chai North Sports venues in Hong Kong Football venues in Hong Kong