The Sports Bureau (ID) has announced that Macau’s sports venue area per capita stood at 1.53 square metres last year, an increase of 14.2 percent from the 1.34 square metres in 2017.
The bureau commissioned the public University of Macau (UM) to carry out a survey of all sports facilities and venues available for use across the city last year. The survey did not only cover public sports facilities but also private ones open to certain groups of individuals such as residential estates’ clubhouse facilities open to their respective residents.
The bureau announced the findings of last year’s survey during a press conference at its headquarters in Zape on Friday.
Addressing the press conference, ID President Pun Weng Kun noted that with the aim of enabling the government to gain a better understanding of the situations of all sports venues across the city, the bureau first commissioned the University of Macau to carry out the survey in 2011, after which another one was carried out in 2017 providing updates on the city’s sports venues. Pun said that with the aim of understanding the latest situation of the city’s sports venues, the bureau commissioned the university to carry out the survey “again” last year.
Pun underlined that the survey aimed to enable the government to draw up better planning for setting up new sports facilities in the future.
Pun said that according to the findings of last year’s survey, Macau’s total area of sports venues per capita reached 1.53 square metres last year, an increase of 0.19 square metres from the 1.34 square metres in 2017, representing a 14.2 percent rise.
Pun noted that Macau’s population grew 3.4 percent during the five-year period, during which the city’s total area of sports venue increased faster than the population, because of which the city recorded a rise in its sports venue area per capita during the period, Pun said.
According to the bureau’s previous announcements, Macau’s sports venue area per capita slightly dropped from 1.4 square metres in 2011 to 1.34 square metres in 2017. During the six-year period, the total area increased 11.87 percent, but its population grew at a faster pace, at 16.76 percent, the bureau’s previous announcements noted.
Areas per capita by districts
The findings of last year’s survey also listed sports venue areas per capita by districts. According to Pun, Taipa Village district, which is close to Macau Stadium, had the highest sports venue area per capita last year, while Barra and Manduco district had the lowest.
Barra and Manduco district is one of the government’s official statistical districts. It covers an area south of Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro (aka San Ma Lou in Cantonese, the city’s main thoroughfare), and west of Nam Van, Sai Van, and Penha Hill. In other words, Barra and Manduco district covers the Inner Harbour district south of San Ma Lou as well as various neighbourhoods between the south Inner Harbour district and Rua Central, Rua do Padre António, and Rua da Barra. More specifically, Barra and Manduco district covers Praça de Ponte e Horta (aka Si Ta Hau in Cantonese), the Praia do Manduco (aka Ha Van in Cantonese) neighbourhood, São Lourenço Church, and Barra (area near A-Ma Temple).
In addition to Barra and Manduco district, according to Pun, Barca district and Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida district were among the districts having the lowest sports venue areas per capita last year, when all three districts had a sports venue area per capita of less than 0.2 square metres.
Barca district is known as San Kio in Cantonese, while Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida district, as its name suggests, refers to the area surrounding Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, covering Praça do Tap Seac and Lou Lim Ieoc Garden.
Pun noted that all three districts have a high population density where there is only very limited space available for setting up new sports facilities, because of which it is difficult to raise the three districts’ sports venue area per capita.
According to Pun, Macau recorded an increase in its sports venue total area during the five-year period thanks to the operational starts of the Athletes Training and Development Centre and Mong Ha Sports Centre, as well as new private residential estates’ clubhouse facilities.
The Athletes Training and Development Centre, which is located next to the Macau East Asian Games Dome in Cotai, came into operation in late 2019, while Mong Ha Sports Centre opened in late 2021.
Moreover, Pun also noted that the mainland’s sports venue area per capita grew from 1.46 square metres in 2017 to 2.62 square metres last year, an increase of around 80 percent. Pun underlined that it was “unavoidable” that Macau had a much smaller growth in its sports venue area per capita than the mainland during the five-year period because of Macau’s very limited land resources.
According to official data, Macau’s land area stood at 33.3 square kilometres in June this year, an increase of 39.9 percent from the 23.8 square kilometres in December 1999 when the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) was established.
This undated file photo released by the Sports Bureau (ID) shows the high-rise Mong Ha Sports Centre.
