Jamaica – Sport Minister Olivia Grange has announced that resurfacing of the track at the National Stadium is set to start “any time now.”
She further said that similar work at the Catherine Hall Sports Complex in Montego Bay is scheduled for the 2020-2021 financial year.
Minister Grange said she had asked the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) to treat the Catherine Hall Sports Complex as a priority for the next financial year, which starts on April 1, 2021.
She said that all the assessment for replacement of the Catherine Hall track had been completed and the level of work required for the resurfacing determined.
The Sport Minister said two factors will determine when the work gets going at the National Stadium; the first is that because the track has to be laid on a completely dried surface, it must await the end of the seasonal rains.
The other factor is the arrival of the manufacturers’ representatives, BSW of Germany, to supervise the project and this will depend on COVID restrictions. BSW laid the track in 2010.
Minister Grange said, “the material for the resurfacing of the stadium track is on site. Upgrading after 10 years of usage is now necessary for the track to retain its Class 1 certification by World Athletics. But because of maintenance and care, we were able to extend it by another two years to 2020.”
The minister further said that “the Government is putting a maintenance/replacement programme to ensure that there is money for upgrading stadiums. It is through such a plan for the National Stadium that we have money for a new track. Money was actually put aside for the National Stadium because of proper planning and going forward we will be using that approach for upgrading of the facilities.”
The resurfacing at the National Stadium should be completed within six weeks.
