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Lights for Trelawny Stadium by year-end
Garfield Myers
Friday, May 23, 2008
IF all goes according to plan, a proper lighting system to facilitate night-time sporting events will be in place by year-end at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium at Florence Hall, Trelawny, on Jamaica's north coast.
Major Desmond Brown, general manager of the state-run Independence Park Ltd (IPL), told the Observer his agency which has responsibility for the National Stadium Complex as well as the "short-term management" of the Trelawny facility, was working closely with the Government on the project.
"I think the major issue right now is to get the lights in and we are working with the government to have the lights in before the end of the year if all goes well," Brown said. He disclosed that "negotiations" had actually started "with our suppliers".
"I think if we get the lights in then it's a whole new ball game as to what we can and cannot do here," Brown added.
The expectation is that football and Twenty/20 cricket would be among the activities scheduled at nights at the stadium which overlooks the world-famous Glistening Waters Lagoon and the historic town of Falmouth to the west.
Lights apart, Brown speaks of plans for an "outdoor" entertainment centre on part of the undeveloped 40-odd acres of land on which the Stadium is sited. Built at a cost of US$35 million initially for last year's World Cup opening ceremony and several warm-up games, the facility was promoted as a venue for a range of activities, including entertainment.
The idea was that the stadium, located as it is mid-way between the tourist meccas of Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, would dovetail neatly into the rapidly expanding leisure industry providing opportunities for sports and entertainment niches.
But a major drawback is a reliance on commercial water. The stadium was built without provision for an in-house irrigation water supply, which means for example that for Jamaica's football World Cup qualifier against Bahamas next month, the stadium managers will have to rely on expensive water provided by the National Water Commission (NWC) to get the field ready.
The inadequacy of irrigation water was very much in evidence for the three-day warm-up cricket match between Australia and a Jamaica Select XI last weekend. The sand-based field - green and carpet-like for last year's World Cup warm-up games - was dry, hard and scruffy last week.
Brown said finding a way to establish an independent water supply will be crucial to the development of the stadium which is currently costing just over $2 million to maintain - funding coming mainly from Government subventions.
He knows it won't be easy or cheap, but Brown visualises a project that will allow the use of recycled water as well as rain catchment to irrigate the field.
Garfield Myers
Friday, May 23, 2008
IF all goes according to plan, a proper lighting system to facilitate night-time sporting events will be in place by year-end at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium at Florence Hall, Trelawny, on Jamaica's north coast.
Major Desmond Brown, general manager of the state-run Independence Park Ltd (IPL), told the Observer his agency which has responsibility for the National Stadium Complex as well as the "short-term management" of the Trelawny facility, was working closely with the Government on the project.
"I think the major issue right now is to get the lights in and we are working with the government to have the lights in before the end of the year if all goes well," Brown said. He disclosed that "negotiations" had actually started "with our suppliers".
"I think if we get the lights in then it's a whole new ball game as to what we can and cannot do here," Brown added.
The expectation is that football and Twenty/20 cricket would be among the activities scheduled at nights at the stadium which overlooks the world-famous Glistening Waters Lagoon and the historic town of Falmouth to the west.
Lights apart, Brown speaks of plans for an "outdoor" entertainment centre on part of the undeveloped 40-odd acres of land on which the Stadium is sited. Built at a cost of US$35 million initially for last year's World Cup opening ceremony and several warm-up games, the facility was promoted as a venue for a range of activities, including entertainment.
The idea was that the stadium, located as it is mid-way between the tourist meccas of Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, would dovetail neatly into the rapidly expanding leisure industry providing opportunities for sports and entertainment niches.
But a major drawback is a reliance on commercial water. The stadium was built without provision for an in-house irrigation water supply, which means for example that for Jamaica's football World Cup qualifier against Bahamas next month, the stadium managers will have to rely on expensive water provided by the National Water Commission (NWC) to get the field ready.
The inadequacy of irrigation water was very much in evidence for the three-day warm-up cricket match between Australia and a Jamaica Select XI last weekend. The sand-based field - green and carpet-like for last year's World Cup warm-up games - was dry, hard and scruffy last week.
Brown said finding a way to establish an independent water supply will be crucial to the development of the stadium which is currently costing just over $2 million to maintain - funding coming mainly from Government subventions.
He knows it won't be easy or cheap, but Brown visualises a project that will allow the use of recycled water as well as rain catchment to irrigate the field.
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