LCQ12: Soccer pitches under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department

     Following is a question by the Dr Hon Pierre Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (March 27):

Question:
 
     Regarding the soccer pitches under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the respective current numbers of the four types of soccer pitches, namely (i) 11-a-side soccer pitches (natural turf), (ii) 11-a-side soccer pitches (artificial turf), (iii) 7-a-side soccer pitches (natural turf) and (iv) 7-a-side soccer pitches (artificial turf); set out, for each type of soccer pitches in a table of the same format as the table below, the following of each pitch: the District Council district in which it is located, name, dimensions (length and width), construction cost and usage rate in 2018;
 
Type of pitches:
 

 
(2) of the method for calculating the usage rates of soccer pitches;
 
(3) whether it has regularly reviewed the usage of soccer pitches; of the circumstances under which the Government will propose the construction of soccer pitches, and the relevant planning criteria; and
 
(4) whether it consulted, in the past three years, members of the football sector and the public on the planning of soccer pitches; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     My reply to the Dr Hon Pierre Chan's question is as follows –
 
(1) The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) manages 42 natural turf soccer pitches and 40 artificial turf soccer pitches.  As most turf soccer pitches only form part of the recreation and sports facilities concerned, and the construction cost of a soccer pitch also forms part of the total estimated construction cost of a facility, the LCSD does not have separate figures on the construction costs for turf soccer pitches.  The information in respect of the size and usage rate of turf pitches is set out at Annex.
 
(2) The usage rate of turf pitches is calculated on the basis of the number of hours of hire.  If there is more than one pitch in a venue, the number of hours hired for all the pitches will be aggregated.  The calculation is as follows:

Overall usage rate of turf pitch (%) = Total hours hired during the year/ Total hours available during the year x 100%

(3) and (4) The LCSD reviews from time to time the usage rate of soccer pitches so as to provide members of the public with appropriate facilities.  When planning for new sports facilities (including soccer pitch), the Government will make reference to the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines and take account of other relevant factors, including policy objectives for sports development, existing provision of sports facilities in various districts, usage rates of existing facilities, demographic changes, views of District Councils, availability of land sites and technical feasibility.  The LCSD will consult related national sports associations where necessary.  The LCSD's soccer pitches are designed in accordance with the relevant standards (Note 1).  The sizes of the vast majority of turf pitches meet the relevant standards, except those with venue constraints.
           
Note 1: The 7-a-side and 11-a-side soccer pitches managed by the LCSD are designed in accordance with the Hong Kong Planning Standard and Guidelines and the standard set by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association respectively.