Standing on the point of the former terminal of the arrivals of the Kai Tak stadium, Al Baxter, the Wallaby who became designer of the stadium, points to the perilous descent that the Jumbo planes used to take in Hong Kong.
The white and orange marks on the checkerboard Hill told the pilots when they had to execute a net turn of 47 degrees, weaving between the buildings of high height apartments on their descent to one of the most frightening landing bands in the world.
“They say that you might see directly in the salons of the plane people,” said Baxter, who was part of the Australian team who lost against England in the 2003 World Cup final. The airport closed in 1999 and for years, the 28 hectares were relaxed.
Last weekend, however, the region returned to life. The brand new Kai Tak stadium has opened its doors to the world to organize the largest city party at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sevens. A shimmering bowl of an arena that has already been nicknamed “the pearl of the East”.
It was designed by Populous, the architects behind the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which will also work on the next redevelopment of Twickenham. Baxter, an accessory to 69 captains, is one of their designers. It is a world far from his days to play under Eddie Jones
“Eddie was an insomniac,” says Baxter. “So his first meeting would be at 6 am and his last meeting would be at 10 a.m. He would be standing at 4:35 am starting to work … which would take a lot of guys when they come back late!
The brand new stadium with 50,000 places in Hong Kong, Kai Tak, has opened its doors to the world to organize the largest city party in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sevens this week
A rich variety of supporters looks at the southern stand of Kai Tak Stadium
Fans go to the Kai Tak stadium during HSBC Hong Kong Sevens
“After each test match, he had kangaroo courts. He was one of the best coaches to work with at the time. He was all about details. All the small details count. So if you fill a lot of small details, you don’t get big things. So all of this is the same now. You have to understand all the little details.
The details of the New Kai Tak Stadium includes everything, lavender factories in the internal acoustics that amplifies the sound created by crowds up to 50,000. Chiefs Kaiser and Pete Tong played during the weekend and Coldplay is one of the arrival titles in the coming months. Nestled in the middle of the residential blocks, the stadium was built with a sliding and sound resistant roof to avoid noise leaks.
Then the former Wallaby will offer his voice on the refurbishment of Twickenham. An improbable destiny for the man whose English colleagues often send him the photo of the famous goal of Drop by Jonny Wilkinson survained with his shoulder.
Solid complaints from local residents of Twickenham have prevented the RFU from being granted lucrative concert licenses, so do not be surprised if similar roofing facilities are discussed for upcoming redevelopment in southwest London.
“In the stadium of the Principality, you can feel the noise in your chest – we wanted to create the same thing here,” explains Baxter. “Hear the crowd increase your adrenaline. I played MCG in front of 90,000, but because you are so far from the edges, you do not get the same atmosphere as a tight stadium of 20,000.
“This is the atmosphere and experience, because it does not cost money. And it was a great success here in Hong Kong. We also use open competitions because when people buy a beer, they often miss a test or a goal. We want them to see the game, because it is a question of being connected to what is happening on the field.
It is planned to install a ferry terminal to gently ship customers in the luxurious setting of the Regent hotel in Victoria Harbor and beyond. Similar proposals have been made for a boat service in Twickenham.
The New South Stand, supporting on the port, was a resounding success during the event of this weekend. He rebounded with revelers in a luxury dress, flying from everyone in the world to check one of the events on the rugby bucket list. This is one of the major new arenas and now there are conferences to bring some of the biggest XV matches in rugby instead.
Al Baxter (left) illustrated alongside his teammate in Australia Chris Latham during the 2007 World Cup
Baxter is a question of small details and the Kai Tak stadium is full of well thought out touches
Baxter (left) cuts a discouraged figure after England celebrates their triumph of the 2003 World Cup final
The New South Stand (above) of the stadium, supporting on the port, was a resounding success during the event. He bounded with revelers in a fancy dress, flying from all over the world
A general view from the outside of the southern stand of Kai Tak Stadium during the Saturday event
It was designed by Populous, the architects behind the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (above)
Then, the former Wallaby will offer his voice to the redevelopment of Twickenham
“One of the things I know is to be launched at the moment is the final of the Nations Cup,” reveals Baxter. “I see this as a perfect place for the Cup of Nations. He is 12 noon from the United Kingdom on Cathay Pacific and nine from Australia.
“ If you are looking for a location that has a lot of accommodation, is easily accessible by all the teams, has a fantastic sports culture in terms of rugby sports culture, then it would be a fantastic neutral place. There are massive quantities of expatriates from all over the Western world and I know that Hong Kong is really lively.
The discussions were supported by World Rugby, CEO Alan Gilpin publicly expressing his support. A warm-up test on the way to the Lions 2029 tour in New Zealand has also been advanced. Gilpin adds: “The beauty of this is when the lions went here, it would have been 2013 on the way to Australia. It was so hot that no one could hold the ball, it was like a bar of soap. Now, if you close the roof, it would be a brilliant show.
About 110,000 fans crossed the new shiny doors of the stadium during the weekend. Most of them, you think so, have already reserved their ticket to come back.
Nik Simon flew to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific. They fly from Hong Kong from London Heathrow up to five times a day and from Manchester airport to seven times a week. cathaypacific.com