Some rugby fans had complained over the dearth of food at Kai Tak Stadium, where the three-day tournament was held, after the government had told operators to enhance their food supply services.
“They’re inexperienced at handling a crowd that big and I think they will learn a good lesson,” said Lan Kwai Fong Group chairman Allan Zeman on RTHK’s Backchat programme.
“It was the first time they were slammed over three days with that many people, and not expecting how much food they could sell, how much drinks they could sell… They probably would stock up in the future.”
The tournament has welcomed more than 110,000 visitors in total.
The figure fell slightly short of Hong Kong China Rugby’s 139,000 expectation.
Lawmaker Vincent Cheng, who is also the vice chairman of the Major Sports Events Committee, told another RTHK radio show that this might be due to the event being held in the Hong Kong Stadium for decades.
“I think that’s because the Kai Tak venue is much bigger than Hong Kong Stadium.
“My understanding is that 90 percent of the tickets were taken up but there’s still room for more ticket sales,” he said.
“I believe the event will now have made its reputation and I hope there will be more visitors in the future.”
Cheng, who was among those attending the Sevens, said the atmosphere was very good and that overall operations had been very smooth.
Kowloon City district councillor Cheung King-fan said there were some complaints by Kai Tak residents about noise coming from the fans’ village located on the east side of the stadium.
“I have reflected the issue to the organiser, park operator and the Environmental Protection Department,” he added.
