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The Youth Sports Ground at Kai Tak Sports Park is a versatile 5,000-seat outdoor venue designed to cater to both professional sports and public recreational activities. The facility is intended to foster community engagement by providing a space for jogging, walking and various sports, all while being equipped to host major events when needed.
Arup provided multidisciplinary services, including civil, structural, geotechnical and building services engineering, as well as traffic, fire, façade, acoustics, audio-visual, sports lighting, advanced digital engineering, security, environmental and sustainability consulting. By incorporating smart technologies, energy-efficient features and sustainable solutions, this project sets a new standard for modern sports venue.
The Youth Sports Ground contributes significantly to the community by providing an accessible space for sports and recreation while demonstrating how intelligent design and technology can integrate with urban infrastructure.
The broader Kai Tak Sports Park includes three major venues—Kai Tak Stadium, Kai Tak Arena and the Youth Sports Ground—alongside extensive retail and dining options, contributing to the significant enhancement to Hong Kong’s urban landscape.
Innovative approach for minimising disruption
The design and construction of the Youth Sports Ground posed unique challenges to our structural and geotechnical engineers due to its proximity to the Kai Tak Tunnel, a vital east-west artery in Kowloon that runs underneath the centreline of the grandstand and field of play. To protect the tunnel’s structural integrity, the grandstand is designed with the lower tier of the seating platform at ground level, supported by a ground-bearing slab. In the central region, a series of transfer trusses support the upper floors, spanning over 40m. This design transfers the loading to either side of the tunnel onto the large diametre bored piles, minimising disturbance to the tunnel during construction.
Sustainability at its core
The hybrid turf at the Youth Sports Ground, a mix of approximately 95% Bermuda grass and 5% artificial grass, received high praise from the players. To support this, a rainwater collection system is designed to optimise the maintenance and irrigation of the lawn. This system collects surface runoff from the athletics track and turf then stores, filters and reuses it for irrigation. This sustainable approach reduces irrigation water consumption by over 60% annually, creating a green sports experience for operators and visitors alike.
The sports ground boasts a range of sustainable design features, from renewable energy generation to waste management. The main building roof is equipped with 360 solar photovoltaic panels, supplying more than 4% of the building’s anticipated energy consumption. The building’s energy-efficient design is expected to improve its energy performance over 30%, compared to typical buildings that follow local design codes. These features, combined with advanced measures in lighting quality, selection of healthy materials, acoustics and thermal comfort, enable the sports ground to effortlessly achieve a BEAM Plus Platinum rating.
Elevating spectator experience
The pitch lights are designed to meet international standards, allowing the venue to host a variety of sports, from athletics to football and rugby. Our lighting designers have leveraged our global experience to strike a delicate balance of vertical illuminance and uniformity, while minimising glare for players, spectators and TV broadcasts.
The system comprises five groups of lights around the pitch, with additional lighting on the grandstand and ceiling roof. Each group contains a varying number of floodlights that can be programmed to meet the specific needs of different events and scenarios. This ensures an excellent viewing experience for both on-site spectators and TV audiences, while providing a clear and comfortable environment for athletes.
To enhance the live event experience, the venue features a meticulously designed video broadcast infrastructure, enabling broadcast cameras to operate seamlessly from all strategic locations. Additionally, a stunning LED wall scoreboard delivers clear and crisp live broadcast content and scoring information to the spectators.
A range of smart initiatives have been integrated to enhance the experience of spectators and visitors alike. These include the adoption of AI technology in crowd management, smart lampposts, full 5G and Wi-Fi coverage, among others.
Hip Hing Engineering Co Ltd / Populous / Simon Kwan & Associates Ltd / ADI Limited
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