In early 1981 the Hong Kong Jockey Club\Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club informed Governor Murray MacLehose that it was willing to fund another project of a comparable scale to its recent major undertakings, which included the Ocean Park and the Jubilee Sports Centre. The government responded with a proposal to develop an academy for the performing arts. The academy would complement the performing arts spaces being opened across the territory by the Urban Council, and provide opportunities for creative youth just as the Jubilee Sports Centre was developed to serve young sportspeople.