The opening of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Sports Park on Saturday failed to deliver much of a business boost to nearby restaurants as most of the nearly 34,000 spectators opted to leave the area right after the show ended.
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Yarus Lau, manager of Western restaurant GoNuts at Kai Tak Mall 2, said business levels were similar to past weekends and he was “a bit disappointed” with the number of customers. Traffic was better during previous drills and test events at the stadium, he added.
He was “a bit disappointed” with the number of customers and said traffic was better during previous drills and test events at the stadium.
“I think the issue is the type of people here and the event’s timing today,” he said, noting the 8.35pm ending was past normal dinner hours. “It feels like people are dispersing and not coming back into the restaurants.”
The HK$30 billion (US$3.9 billion) Kai Tak Sports Park was officially inaugurated on Saturday evening with a star-studded opening ceremony that began at 6.30pm.
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The roughly 33,000 spectators had fully dispersed within an hour after the show ended.
While some residents indeed headed for dinner afterwards, no long queues formed at restaurants.