Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) member Leong Sun Iok has called for Macau Jockey Club to be developed into a sports and leisure destination that embraces the culture of horse racing, as well as sports events and activities such as cycling and football.
Leong’s comments were made during a plenary meeting of the AL on Monday, where he outlined his hope that Macau can be built into a “sports city” by improving its sporting facilities.
At the end of his speech, Leong cited MJC as the perfect opportunity to develop such a sports city, pushing for the government to “make use of unused land to optimize existing sports venues and facilities, such as the Macau racecourse.”
“The Macau Jockey Club racecourse occupies a large area and embodies the culture of horse racing,” he said. “If equestrian can be developed here and the land space inside the racecourse can be utilized to provide more sports events and activities such as cycling and football, an integrated sports body can be gradually formed which will become an iconic sports and leisure destination in Macau.”
As Leong’s speech was made before the AL’s official agenda, government officials are not required to respond in person. However, recent negative developments at MJC – which recently proposed slashing the prize money it pays to jockeys and trainers due to mounting financial losses – have led many to question whether the Club can continue to operate in the long-term.
The proposal to reduce prize money saw those affected threaten to strike before it was scrapped altogether last week.
MJC received a new 24-year concession in 2018 but is required to fulfil a raft of key commitments, including upgrading and enhancing its facilities and settling MOP$150 million in outstanding fees owed to the Macau SAR.
According to data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), MJC’s betting turnover in 3Q23 was MOP$51 million, representing a 63% decline compared to 2019, including a 64% fall in gaming revenue to just MOP$10 million.
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