Hong Kong Premier League club Kitchee’s HK$84M ($10.83M) investment in its training center in Shek Mun "is likely to go up in smoke with the government keen to take back the land for housing development," according to Chan Kin-wa of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. The facility, built on 15,000 square meters of land in Sha Tin, opened last year and is equipped with two 11-a-side grounds "covered by state-of-the-art artificial turf pitches." Work on a second phase, including a two-story administration building with an additional budget of HK$20M ($2.58M), is "also underway." While other HKPL clubs "must book pitches through the government’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department and compete with the public," Kitchee has "the luxury" of its own facilities. It also has "a fully equipped gym, office and changing rooms" following a HK$63M ($8.12M) donation from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. But all this "may be destroyed by the wrecking ball after it was revealed on Friday that Leung Chun-ying’s government wanted to change the recreational facility" into a housing development site. Kitchee GM Ken Ng Kin "was unavailable for comment on Friday," with a spokesperson saying the club was studying the issue (SCMP, 10/1).
