(7 June 2024, Hong Kong) Kai Tak Sports Park, the future home venue for Hong Kong, is gearing up to become Hong Kong’s largest and most comprehensive sports and leisure complex, slated to open in the first half of 2025. As a centrepiece of this landmark project, the state-of-the-art Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground is nearing completion in conjunction with all major facilities, boasting a capacity of approximately 5,000 spectators. The meticulous turf-laying work for the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground has recently been completed, setting the stage for this cutting-edge facility to support a wide range of sports activities and community engagement activities. In future, the Youth Sports Ground will serve as a hub for various sports associations, academic institutions, and other stakeholder groups to promote sports development across Hong Kong. Additionally, the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground will arrange appropriate time slots to open the venue to the public for jogging activities, further enhancing accessibility and enabling residents to embrace active lifestyles.
The turf laying project at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground is the first public sports ground in Hong Kong to adopt “Lay and Play” technology, which is widely used internationally, meeting various international standards such as those set by the World Rugby and FIFA. The turf was first planted in Zhuhai and transported to the Youth Sports Ground on the same day of harvesting. Under the turf system, multiple structures such as rapid drainage and automatic sprinklers are installed to ensure healthy turf growth. This not only enhances the environmental efficiency of the park but also caters to the needs of various sports events and community activities.
Innovative “Carpet Hybrid” and “Lay and Play” Turf Technologies Elevate Flexibility and Quality at Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground
The turf laid at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground was cultivated in a 10,000 square metre turf nursery site located in Zhuhai. It is a “Carpet Hybrid” root-zone reinforcement system, also known as “Hybrid Turf”. Once the hybrid turf carpet is laid, the fibres are carefully brushed until fully upright, while the 40mm thick of planting sand is applied. The turf was then planted into the sand via the sprigging method and matured over a period of 10 to 12 weeks. The mature turf was then harvested into rolls in five days, with each roll measuring 1.2 metres wide and 10 metres long, totalling approximately 650 rolls of turf. To ensure high turf quality, the harvesting took place in the early morning, and the turf was immediately transported to Hong Kong via trucks for installation.
Daniel FAN, Operations Manager of Kai Tak Sports Park said, “The turf is a core facility of professional sports venues. The Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground has adopted ‘Lay and Play’ technology which is already widely used in many top European league stadiums, including Anfield Stadium, London Stadium and Wembley Stadium. The turf system is like a carpet with natural and artificial grass fibres attached to it. After the carpet is laid, it only requires filling with a layer of lightweight planting sand planting sand, and simple grooming to stand upright, ensuring it is readily available for use in sporting events. This innovative technology is not only efficient in establishing a high-quality playing surface instantly but also eliminates the lengthy planting process, making turf care and maintenance more flexible.”
Optimal Grass Variety for Hong Kong’s Climate to Enhance Athlete Performance
Kai Tak Sports Park aims to build high-quality venues capable of hosting local and international sports events while providing a great experience for athletes and users. To construct a high-quality Youth Sports Ground, a range of technical factors were considered in the design, build, and selection of grass varieties process, ensuring the performance, durability, and safety of the playing surface. As a result, a hybrid turf system was chosen for the field.
The hybrid turf of the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground is composed of approximately 95% Bermuda grass, with less than 5% being artificial grass fibres. As such, it remains a natural grass surface, maintaining the feel of a real grass pitch. The hybrid turf can enhance the durability and wear resistance of the field under different weather conditions, allowing for an extended playing season. These turf fields, primarily consisting of warm-season grass species like Bermuda grass, have an optimal growth temperature range of 27 to 35 degrees Celsius. They possess excellent heat and drought tolerance, ensuring good quality growth is maintained even in hot and dry climates. Additionally, they are known for their rapid recovery capabilities, quickly bouncing back from wear and tear. This makes them an ideal choice for sports fields in Hong Kong, with many sports venues in Asia also utilising Bermuda grass pitches.
Malcolm CADDIES, General Manager – Sports Turf and Landscaping of Kai Tak Sports Park stated, “The hybrid turf closely mimics the feel and performance of natural grass, but the inclusion of artificial turf fibres in the hybrid composition helps absorb extra wear and tear during sporting events, resulting in a more durable playing surface. The excellent stability and appropriate elasticity of the hybrid turf provide superior shock absorption characteristics. This helps athletes maintain better balance, prevent injuries, and perform more precise movements on the field.”
Harnessing the Power of Nature: Automated Rainwater Collection System Optimises Irrigation
During the design phase, the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground has already installed an advanced underground rainwater collection system around the field, optimising the maintenance and irrigation of the lawn. The system collects rainwater from the building’s roof surface and the turf’s drainage system, storing it in three underground water tanks beneath the playing surface. The water is filtered, undergoes UV disinfection, and is then recycled for irrigation purposes. By monitoring weather conditions, the system will automatically adjust irrigation time and frequency to ensure a balanced moisture level for the turf. This sustainable approach brings a green sports experience for operations, users, and the environment.
After the completion of the turf system installation at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground, other facilities that meet international standards, such as the athletics track, pitch lights, and related equipment, will be installed and tested gradually. The entire project has entered its final construction phase, and it is anticipated that the main facilities of the Kai Tak Sports Park will be completed by the end of 2024, followed by various testing activities. Once the trial operations and testing are deemed satisfactory, the Kai Tak Sports Park is expected to be operational in the first half of 2025.
