Gov’t says stadium tenant responsible for fixing pitch

The concert organizer who rented the Macao Stadium is responsible for returning the grass pitch to its previous conditions, the Sports Bureau (ID) has said.

About a week ago, several entertainment companies used the Olympic Sport Stadium for two evening concerts of Korean boy band Seventeen’s “Follow” tour, which was the final stop of the tour.

Besides “disturbing noisy and worrying quakes” reported by residents near the stadium during rehearsals and concerts, photos depicting a pitch of mushy turf and damaged grass went viral on social media. Comments subsequently questioned the situation.

In response to public criticisms, the ID assured in a statement that the venue tenants are responsible for repairing any stadium facilities damaged by or during the concerts. All costs will be borne by the tenants, it further assured.

All reconditioning work is expected to conclude by the end of February, the ID said.

Other main users of the stadium have not been affected as prior arrangements were made, the ID emphasized, and all tenants are reminded of the importance of facility protections.

Following the concerts over a week ago, residents filed several complaints protesting the high volume of the music, the traffic congestion and the construction of the stage, among other aspects.

The most chaotic moments occurred after the concerts.

Fans exited the Stadium in such numbers that they exceeded the capacity of the surrounding streets and roads.

Public transport also struggled to cope with the spike in demand.

However, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong has last week said that concerts carry an important economic benefit in the attraction of tourists.

She noted that while such events bring clear benefits, there is room to improve aspects such as traffic control, crowd flow, event size and performance schedules.

She hopes a balance can be found to minimize the events’ impacts on residents’ lives while attracting tourists to Macau, which is a government goal.