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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium has great potential</SPAN>
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Monday, December 11, 2006
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<P class=StoryText align=justify>The story is told that when the Government of the day decided to build the National Stadium in Kingston close to five decades ago, there were those who criticised the move. The critics felt that too much money was being spent on a project that would prove to be a 'white elephant' or something akin.<P class=StoryText align=justify>So it should come as no surprise that the Jamaican Government is being criticised in some quarters for "overbuilding" ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007. Indeed, with the US$30-million Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium almost complete, there is still talk that it will turn out to be a 'white elephant'.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It's perhaps instructive that in regard to Jamaica's headquarters of cricket, Sabina Park, where somewhere in the region of US$30 million is also being spent in upgrading the historic, more than 100-year-old facility, there is not quite the same attitude. It reflects, in our view, a strong, unreasoning Kingston-bias among many in our midst who really should know better.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It's true to say that the Jamaican Government had options when it chose to develop a brand new facility in Trelawny for the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup, as well as a venue for warm-up games.
For, in truth, a spruced up National Stadium could have easily been used for the opening ceremony. And any one of several cricket grounds could have been upgraded at a fraction of the cost of building a new stadium to host World Cup warm-up games.<P class=StoryText align=justify>To the discerning eye, it is clear that the PJ Patterson Government seized the opportunity provided by the World Cup to provide a modern full-sized stadium for Jamaica's north and west coasts -the tourism belt - that has been needed for decades.<P class=StoryText align=justify>This newspaper agrees fully with that decision. We believe the Government's move to place a stadium at the geographical centre of the thriving tourism industry, just east of Falmouth, within 40 minutes drive of Montego Bay to the west and Ocho Rios to the east, will be fully vindicated.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Until now, an appropriately sized and equipped venue with the capability to host major sporting and entertainment events has been lacking in our main tourist areas. As we understand it, the spaciously located Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium is not intended as a dedicated cricket facility. Rather, it is, as its name suggests, a complex with the capacity, even as it now stands, to host a range of events, and with great potential for further development.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller underlined that fact when she toured the venue recently.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We expect that the Trelawny facility will become the centre of a thriving sports tourism sub-sector. We expect that sporting teams from a variety of disciplines in North America and Europe will soon be checking out the possibility of spending time during the off-season on Jamaica's exotic north coast, precisely because of the existence of a modern stadium, within easy drive of their hotel.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The key, of course, will be management. We believe that with proper management the sky is the limit for the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium.<P class=StoryText align=justify>
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>
Monday, December 11, 2006
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<P class=StoryText align=justify>The story is told that when the Government of the day decided to build the National Stadium in Kingston close to five decades ago, there were those who criticised the move. The critics felt that too much money was being spent on a project that would prove to be a 'white elephant' or something akin.<P class=StoryText align=justify>So it should come as no surprise that the Jamaican Government is being criticised in some quarters for "overbuilding" ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007. Indeed, with the US$30-million Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium almost complete, there is still talk that it will turn out to be a 'white elephant'.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It's perhaps instructive that in regard to Jamaica's headquarters of cricket, Sabina Park, where somewhere in the region of US$30 million is also being spent in upgrading the historic, more than 100-year-old facility, there is not quite the same attitude. It reflects, in our view, a strong, unreasoning Kingston-bias among many in our midst who really should know better.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It's true to say that the Jamaican Government had options when it chose to develop a brand new facility in Trelawny for the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup, as well as a venue for warm-up games.
For, in truth, a spruced up National Stadium could have easily been used for the opening ceremony. And any one of several cricket grounds could have been upgraded at a fraction of the cost of building a new stadium to host World Cup warm-up games.<P class=StoryText align=justify>To the discerning eye, it is clear that the PJ Patterson Government seized the opportunity provided by the World Cup to provide a modern full-sized stadium for Jamaica's north and west coasts -the tourism belt - that has been needed for decades.<P class=StoryText align=justify>This newspaper agrees fully with that decision. We believe the Government's move to place a stadium at the geographical centre of the thriving tourism industry, just east of Falmouth, within 40 minutes drive of Montego Bay to the west and Ocho Rios to the east, will be fully vindicated.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Until now, an appropriately sized and equipped venue with the capability to host major sporting and entertainment events has been lacking in our main tourist areas. As we understand it, the spaciously located Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium is not intended as a dedicated cricket facility. Rather, it is, as its name suggests, a complex with the capacity, even as it now stands, to host a range of events, and with great potential for further development.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller underlined that fact when she toured the venue recently.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We expect that the Trelawny facility will become the centre of a thriving sports tourism sub-sector. We expect that sporting teams from a variety of disciplines in North America and Europe will soon be checking out the possibility of spending time during the off-season on Jamaica's exotic north coast, precisely because of the existence of a modern stadium, within easy drive of their hotel.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The key, of course, will be management. We believe that with proper management the sky is the limit for the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium.<P class=StoryText align=justify>