The Jamaican government is scheduled to begin work to re-develop the national stadium facility in Kingston early next year, Jamaica’s sports minister Olivia Grange announced on Thursday.
Speaking at the launch of the 2020 edition of the Racers Grand Prix at the Jamaica Pegasus in Kingston, Minister Grange unveiled more details of the government’s ambitious plans to modernize the facilities at the national stadium that are more than 50 years old.
For the past few years, the Jamaican government has been mulling ideas of how they can modernise the stadium complex, turning it into a multi-faceted facility that would host international events and attractions that would help improve Jamaica’s sports tourism product.
In early 2019, the minister revealed that they had engaged consultants to look at what was feasible and submit a report to the government. That work, the minister revealed, was now done and those initial plans are now closer to reality.
The consultants have now submitted their report to PIMSEC, which is the Public Investment Management Secretariat, who looks at the feasibility of the project and the minister is confident that work can begin soon.
“Based on the schedule we will be starting construction early next year,” the minister announced, explaining that the overall development, the business plan and the various recommendations for the development of the national stadium were included in the consultants’ report.
“They are looking at a concept where the national stadium will be covered, the seats are going to be taken out and new seats put in. There will be about 10,000 new seats in the national stadium,” she said.
“The velodrome will be removed and a new one will be built within the complex. The sports museum, we will be taking in that whole section where Bob Marley statue is, for the sports museum to be part of the complex.”
She said a concert hall will be part of the complex that will boast up-to -ate technology that “can stream and do all kinds of things.” There will also be state-of-the-art anti-doping facilities.
However, even more developments are being considered.
“We will be able to hold small functions there as well; facilities that will be able to host small banquets, facilities that can be used by the sports organisations, because you can’t sustain a stadium if all you do is big events because you won’t have big events every month here. But, we will have smaller facilities that can be utilised.
Offices will also be provided for the sporting organisations, the minister said.