Hong Kong's track and field community on Wednesday "welcomed the government's decision to put the Wan Chai Sports Ground redevelopment plan on hold, although the future of the city facility remains unclear," according to Chan Kin-wa of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. In her first policy address, Hong Kong CEO Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that the government decided "for the time being, it would not touch the Wan Chai Sports Ground as intended under the Leung Chun-ying administration." Instead, it would "demolish and redevelop the three government buildings next to the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai North into a new wing that can be connected to and integrated with" the existing center. Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association Senior Vice-Chair Simon Yeung Sai-mo said that the new development "was positive." He said, "There has been a lack of track and field training facilities for many years and we were surprised when the previous government made such a decision by closing the venue for commercial use." Yeung added that the Wan Chai facility was "one of only three designated training grounds for the sport" (SCMP, 10/11).
