Fears Singapore will "streak ahead of Hong Kong in hosting major sports events in Asia" look set to be realized with "confirmation on Friday that the city is in discussions" on staging a British and Irish Lions tour match, int'l tests and a leg of the rugby sevens series at its new $1B Sports Hub, according to REUTERS. Sports administrators in Hong Kong have "long feared that the city will lose out to Singapore, with Hong Kong's own long-mooted Sports Hub at Kai Tak still no further forward than the blueprints after repeated delays." The facility, which "can host cricket, rugby, soccer and athletics
events, is the centrepiece" of a project which Singapore hopes can "transform it into a sporting capital." Int'l Rugby Board Chair Bernard Lapasset said, "Our role now is to open the door for Asia, with more expansion for rugby. Singapore is a fantastic city and they already have a lot of big events and rugby should be a part of that. Whether it's the Sevens World Series, Olympic qualifiers or World Cup warm-up games, there are many opportunities in the coming years for Singapore to be a major player in the rugby world." Singapore is in the hunt to host the 2018 World Cup rugby sevens tournament, "while discussions were held this week on the possibility of hosting one of three new stops proposed on the sevens series, as well as a Lions fixture" (REUTERS, 10/10).
