utech should find ways to construct its own facilities...

[Baddaz]

they should leave the trelawny stadium alone... whats with the shortcut mentality... work with the gov't to secure lands for construction of a second campus... if the hoteliers can do it, so can the education institution...

West fired up over stadium usage - Sport's bosses bat for cricket at Trelawny venue... But others say give UTech a chance to score

Published: Wednesday | May 20, 2009


Adrian Frater, News Editor

Members of the Kenya and Netherlands cricket teams warm-up ahead of their practice match at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium, prior to the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The facility has been at the centre of much debate, given it's limited use since. - file
Western Bureau:
When former West Indies captain Brian Lara saw the US$30 million Trelawny Multi-purpose stadium for the first time in 2007, he was so impressed with the beauty and charm of the venue that he immediately declared it as ideal to host Test cricket.
"It is a fantastic facility," the star batsman told The Gleaner at the time. "It would be a shame if this facility is not used for Test cricket in the near future."
More than two years after Brian Lara's endorsement of the facility, which was built through a loan secured by the Jamaican Government from its Chinese counterpart, the magnificent facility's only claim to fame was its [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]hosting[/COLOR][/COLOR] of the opening ceremony of 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup.
'White elephant'
While it has hosted a few regional cricket and football matches, in terms of the original plans for the facility - which included [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]rental[/COLOR][/COLOR] to professional teams from the United States for spring training, the stadium could all but be deemed the 'white elephant' many had predicted it would have become.
Prior to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) taking office 20 months ago, Energy Minister James Robertson, then an opposition senator, drew attention to the stadium, saying he had got information that it was being vandalised, among other things.
Shortly after Robertson's statement, which the then government denied, an announcement was made that Independence Park Limited (IPL), which has responsibility for the National Stadium in St Andrew, would take over the [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]management[/COLOR][/COLOR] of the Trelawny venue.
Cbjections to takeover
At the time, former politician and cricket enthusiast, Desmond Leaky, raised objections to IPL takeover, saying it did not have a [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]history[/COLOR][/COLOR] of marketing, as it has never marketed the National Stadium for any event, which has resulted in that facility not realising its potential.
The University of [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Technology[/COLOR][/COLOR] (UTech) is bidding to lease the stadium to establish a campus in western Jamaica, and that news is not going down well with persons whose vision is to see the venue hosting international cricket at the highest level.
"It is absolutely a no-no for me," said chairman of the Cornwall Cricket Committee, Cecil Fletcher, who is a top regional cricket umpire.
"UTech should construct their own facilities to accommodate their various programmes," Fletcher added. "Seeking to acquire the Trelawny Stadium is looking the easy way out."
Veteran sports administrator and former national cricketer, Jerry Reid, has mixed views. According to him, if UTech were prepared to take care of the upkeep of the facility and at the same time make it available, when needed by the various sporting bodies, he would support the proposed lease.
"The facility needs to be maintained properly and if UTech will do that and, at the same time, allow its use for international events that would be okay," said Reid. "However, if UTech intends to take it over for their use only, I would be totally against that."
However, having seen the facility all but go to waste over the last two years, businessman Dennis Seivwright, president of the Trelawny Chamber of Commerce, would be only too happy to see something meaningful happening at the stadium and is prepared to give UTech his blessings.
"It would open up education to our high school students, but we have to look at it carefully and the long-term benefit and what is for the greater good," Seivwright said. "Right now, it (the stadium) is just sitting there, so we welcome anything that will agitate activity."
While not rejecting the UTech initiative, Dr Patrick Harris, member of parliament for Northern Trelawny, the region in which the stadium is located, would much prefer to see a proper management structure put in place and potential use of the facility carefully assessed before any action is taken.
"It was not initially intended for a school," said Dr Harris. "It is a gorgeous, viable facility but what I think it needs is a proper management structure with people who know about marketing and sports development. Neither this government nor the previous one has talked about really maximising the use of this stadium."
However, Fletcher is adamant that UTech should look elsewhere for a western campus, arguing that like the University of the West Indies (UWI), they should seek lands from Government and construct their own facilities to meet their own needs.
"It was built primarily for cricket and although it is a multi-purpose stadium, it is still primarily for sports," added Fletcher, who is also a vice-president of the West Indies Cricket Umpires Association.
Former football administrator Craig Oates believes that with a severe shortage of top-flight sporting facilities in the west, the Trelawny Stadium should remain a premier sporting venue and wants to see more international cricket and football played there.
"After years of lobbying for a proper stadium in western Jamaica, we have finally got one in the Trelawny Stadium, so I can't believe there would be any good sense in giving it up to UTech," said Oates. "The stadium needs to be properly marketed so that people who would want to use it will know about it."

[Assasin]

and the beat goes on.

Sad to see the Chinese helped us with two facilities and none is been properly used.

[Islandman]

True ting. At this point I would be OK with Utech because you know how these things go, we will sit and wait for govt to form committee, then committee meet and discuss and produce 200 page report and by that time all 5 years pass and the place nuh use.

[Islandman]

Have to go with Lloyd B on this one. If nobody else comes up with a decent alternative proposal by the end of the year then I think its time to cut our losses on this white elephant and move on with the Utech plan.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tek it, UTech


Lloyd B Smith

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I am all for the University of Technology (UTech) taking over the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium. Multi-purpose, my back foot! Apart from having staged World Cup Cricket there, and the occasional football or cricket matches with one or two entertainment/cultural events thrown in for good measure, the multi-million dollar facility has remained a glorified cow pasture!


Lloyd B Smith
Most Jamaicans will recall that during its construction there was a great deal of hullabaloo about it being a grand waste of taxpayers' money. Well, it is fast becoming that and more. Indeed, right now it can lay claim to being an embarrassing white elephant. UTech's vision of transforming the sports complex into a truly multi-dimensional education institution is the stuff of which big dreams are made. Big dreams that have the capacity to become a glowing reality and that can be sustained.

While I can understand cricket aficionados in particular insisting that it should remain the premier ground in the western region for that bat-and-ball phenomenon - one of the vestiges of our colonial past - I find their insistence nothing but another classic case of empty barrels making the most noise. Where is their proposal? Look how long the facility has been there and to date the cricketing fraternity, indeed, the sporting fraternity in general, has failed so far to come up with a credible, feasible and viable plan of action. Gimme a break!

Then again, sports administrators in the west are not known for any outstanding achievements in recent times. Football in the region has been declining drastically while those in charge quibble among themselves. Just look at Jarrett Park that has been there for decades in an unfinished state. The harsh truth is that between the local government bodies and sports people, not much has been accomplished by way of developing the necessary infrastructure and creating meaningful exposure for our athletes and players. Notwithstanding the fact that the region has produced some of the country's most outstanding sports personalities, starting with Trelawny from the early triumphs (now tarnished track successes of Ben Johnson to Usain Bolt, the undisputed king of track and field. Not to mention Veronica Campbell-Brown!)

UTech comes with an impressive track record (no pun intended). Starting with its MVP programme that has become the envy of the sporting world and which has attracted attention internationally, that university which has one of the greatest Jamaican conceptualisers and institution builders (Edward Philip George Seaga) as pro-vice chancellor at its helm, is poised to transform Trelawny into a jewel in Jamaica's crown. The possibilities are endless!

Without any hesitation, the parishes of St Ann, St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, St Elizabeth and of course Trelawny should all throw their weight behind UTech's bid. With the improved road network in the west, it will be far easier for students to pursue their studies and sports programmes here rather than having to journey and domicile themselves in faraway Kingston. Rather than objecting purely out of some narrow, parochial misconception, citizens in the west should embrace this idea whose time has truly come.

Already, the University of the West Indies with much foresight and determination has established two impressive entities in Montego Bay, its Distance Learning facility on the Cornwall College campus and its ground-breaking western campus overlooking the Sangster International Airport. Then there is the Seventh-Day Adventist-run Northern Caribbean University which has put down its roots at their multi-purpose property at Mount Salem. These are major investments in education which should not be taken for granted and which have the potential once and for all to destroy that lie that Kingston is Jamaica.


The Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium built for World Cup Cricket 2007.

With respect to UTech's wanting to take over the Trelawny complex, there is the potential for serious research and development that can benefit the region. Its revered faculty of the Built Environment can be of tremendous help in the designing of affordable housing, especially for tourism workers, and can do much to help preserve the fragile environment in this region through various projects and interventions.

For those who worry about sports taking a back seat to academics, far from being so, Utech can attract both local and foreign students including athletes who can learn and train at the Trelawny campus. One only has to look at many universities abroad, in the United States, for example, where competitive sports is an integral part of their overall existence, bringing in much needed revenue as well as providing exposure for budding and established athletes.

An informed source has told me that Prime Minister Bruce Golding is very excited about UTech's proposal. And why shouldn't he be? After all, it is now up to this Jamaica Labour Party administration to ensure that PJ Patterson's much-maligned dream does not become a permanent nightmare. Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Babsy Grange no doubt will want to hold on to that facility as it can give her much political leverage and clout. But for how long and to what end? I suspect that Mr Golding will not want to openly override his minister on this matter as it falls under her portfolio, but faint heart never won fair lady.

It is my view that the future use of the Trelawny "green park" should be dealt with in a bipartisan framework. The PNP built it and now the JLP must run with it, so why not set up an independent body bereft of a preponderance of partisan hacks to dispassionately examine Utech's proposal in addition to putting together a number of experts to study the proposal and see how feasible it is. Also, in the final analysis, the people of Trelawny should be consulted but this should be done in a constructive way, not confrontational.

The bottom line is that those who object have not walked the talk. UTech, on the other hand, has shown that it is more than ready and capable to burst the tape. to the world! Enough said.

lloydbsmith@hotmail.com

[Don1]

Have to go with Lloyd B on this one. If nobody else comes up with a decent alternative proposal by the end of the year then I think its time to cut our losses on this white elephant and move on with the Utech plan.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tek it, UTech


Lloyd B Smith

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I am all for the University of Technology (UTech) taking over the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium. Multi-purpose, my back foot! Apart from having staged World Cup Cricket there, and the occasional football or cricket matches with one or two entertainment/cultural events thrown in for good measure, the multi-million dollar facility has remained a glorified cow pasture!


Lloyd B Smith
Most Jamaicans will recall that during its construction there was a great deal of hullabaloo about it being a grand waste of taxpayers' money. Well, it is fast becoming that and more. Indeed, right now it can lay claim to being an embarrassing white elephant. UTech's vision of transforming the sports complex into a truly multi-dimensional education institution is the stuff of which big dreams are made. Big dreams that have the capacity to become a glowing reality and that can be sustained.

While I can understand cricket aficionados in particular insisting that it should remain the premier ground in the western region for that bat-and-ball phenomenon - one of the vestiges of our colonial past - I find their insistence nothing but another classic case of empty barrels making the most noise. Where is their proposal? Look how long the facility has been there and to date the cricketing fraternity, indeed, the sporting fraternity in general, has failed so far to come up with a credible, feasible and viable plan of action. Gimme a break!

Then again, sports administrators in the west are not known for any outstanding achievements in recent times. Football in the region has been declining drastically while those in charge quibble among themselves. Just look at Jarrett Park that has been there for decades in an unfinished state. The harsh truth is that between the local government bodies and sports people, not much has been accomplished by way of developing the necessary infrastructure and creating meaningful exposure for our athletes and players. Notwithstanding the fact that the region has produced some of the country's most outstanding sports personalities, starting with Trelawny from the early triumphs (now tarnished track successes of Ben Johnson to Usain Bolt, the undisputed king of track and field. Not to mention Veronica Campbell-Brown!)

UTech comes with an impressive track record (no pun intended). Starting with its MVP programme that has become the envy of the sporting world and which has attracted attention internationally, that university which has one of the greatest Jamaican conceptualisers and institution builders (Edward Philip George Seaga) as pro-vice chancellor at its helm, is poised to transform Trelawny into a jewel in Jamaica's crown. The possibilities are endless!

Without any hesitation, the parishes of St Ann, St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, St Elizabeth and of course Trelawny should all throw their weight behind UTech's bid. With the improved road network in the west, it will be far easier for students to pursue their studies and sports programmes here rather than having to journey and domicile themselves in faraway Kingston. Rather than objecting purely out of some narrow, parochial misconception, citizens in the west should embrace this idea whose time has truly come.

Already, the University of the West Indies with much foresight and determination has established two impressive entities in Montego Bay, its Distance Learning facility on the Cornwall College campus and its ground-breaking western campus overlooking the Sangster International Airport. Then there is the Seventh-Day Adventist-run Northern Caribbean University which has put down its roots at their multi-purpose property at Mount Salem. These are major investments in education which should not be taken for granted and which have the potential once and for all to destroy that lie that Kingston is Jamaica.


The Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium built for World Cup Cricket 2007.

With respect to UTech's wanting to take over the Trelawny complex, there is the potential for serious research and development that can benefit the region. Its revered faculty of the Built Environment can be of tremendous help in the designing of affordable housing, especially for tourism workers, and can do much to help preserve the fragile environment in this region through various projects and interventions.

For those who worry about sports taking a back seat to academics, far from being so, Utech can attract both local and foreign students including athletes who can learn and train at the Trelawny campus. One only has to look at many universities abroad, in the United States, for example, where competitive sports is an integral part of their overall existence, bringing in much needed revenue as well as providing exposure for budding and established athletes.

An informed source has told me that Prime Minister Bruce Golding is very excited about UTech's proposal. And why shouldn't he be? After all, it is now up to this Jamaica Labour Party administration to ensure that PJ Patterson's much-maligned dream does not become a permanent nightmare. Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Babsy Grange no doubt will want to hold on to that facility as it can give her much political leverage and clout. But for how long and to what end? I suspect that Mr Golding will not want to openly override his minister on this matter as it falls under her portfolio, but faint heart never won fair lady.

It is my view that the future use of the Trelawny "green park" should be dealt with in a bipartisan framework. The PNP built it and now the JLP must run with it, so why not set up an independent body bereft of a preponderance of partisan hacks to dispassionately examine Utech's proposal in addition to putting together a number of experts to study the proposal and see how feasible it is. Also, in the final analysis, the people of Trelawny should be consulted but this should be done in a constructive way, not confrontational.

The bottom line is that those who object have not walked the talk. UTech, on the other hand, has shown that it is more than ready and capable to burst the tape. to the world! Enough said.

lloydbsmith@hotmail.com

This UTECH proposal does not have to be a zero sum game.... but can be developed to accomplish UTECH's mission and also accommodate either the cricket or the track/football fraternity (I prefer the latter option).

UTECH can be granted control of the facility as long as they have a viable business plan for its maintenance and development... preferably in alliance with the JFF and the JAAA where those sporting bodies can participate in its management and use it for big events.... great tie in with the tourist trade in the west.

UTECH can use the facility for the core of its sports program but should not be allowed to use it for routine play or training... they don't need a US$30m stadium for that... they can build training facilities adjacent to the site.
After all... UTECH is an academic institution and does not need sole use of Jamaica's second biggest sporting facility... they must share.... and build an international running track in the stadium.... even if it has to be substantially modified.

Jamaica just has to be decisive about choosing to develop the facility for track & football..... not cricket.

Much of the confusion and tardiness seems to surround identifying which sports should be the focus of its mission..... but that is actually the easy part.

Cricket already has facilities which can be developed further... if the administrators wish to do so.... plus track/football give more bang for the buck.

[Muadib]

Bwoy.. PNP really give Govt a bad name..

Sad really.

[Islandman]

Well, the good news is that JLP now has an opportunity to restore our faith in Govt. Obama is attempting to do this in the US too.

[1of1]

mi long fi some good news

[Don1]

Bwoy.. PNP really give Govt a bad name..

Sad really.

The Dead Paradigm continues... on the road to nowhere.

[Assasin]

maybe we shoulda did ask China fi build a college fi we instead.

[Mosiah]

Why? So wi can tun it inna white elephant tuh?

[Sickko]

I have no problem with UTech or any other entity taking over the stadium but not for free.

This is done all over the world, the Atlanta Olympic stadium was bought by the owners of the Atlanta Braves and converted in to a baseball stadium right after the Games ended.

If they can take it over and make it viable why not?

[Mosiah]

But wasn't that the plan even before the Atlanta Olympic stadum was built?

If UTech does not take it over, we'll be havng this discussion 10 years from now. Even Sabina Park is a white elephant. We don't need two elephants running amok!

[Sickko]

This stadium cannot accomodate a proper 400m running track and it would make no sense putting in an all-weather track there either.

Presently the sandy and loose underfoot conditions plus the placement of the many sprinklers would not make running possible.

[Sickko]

Fact is this stadium is used more often than Sabina