‘That is where we are heading now’ | Major Brown outlines US$76m National Stadium plan

The 60-year structure is under the Jamaica 60 Legacy Programme, which will focus on building the country’s infrastructure.

In her contribution to the 2022/23 Sectoral Debate, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, emphasised that the projects cannot be completed in one year, “but will be done over a period of years.”

General Manager for Independence Park Limited (IPL), Major Desmon Brown, says the Stadium complex is set to benefit from state-of-the-art facilities, aimed at modernising the facility.

He says the estimated cost was derived from a Government-commissioned study, undertaken by consultants, to ascertain the requirements to modernise the facility.

IPL, which manages sports facilities at the Stadium complex, has responsibility for the National Arena, National Indoors Sports Centre, National Aquatic Centre, and Stadium East.

Major Brown points out the Ministry of Finance and Public Service now requires “detailed drawings and detailed bills of quantities and costings.”

“That is where we are heading now. So, we are not anywhere [near] starting to build at this moment. We have to get those [drawings and bills] done for the Ministry of Finance,” he says, noting that the job will not be approved until these are submitted.

Major Brown tells JIS News that, over the years, some refurbishing and reinforcement works were done at the Stadium.

These included recent painting for the CARIFTA Games and the Independence Grand Gala.

Additionally, the running track was resurfaced at a cost of $60 million and an outdoor basketball court installed.

Major Brown points out that conditions at the Stadium, which was built in 1962, no longer meet international standards, making the upgrade necessary.

“We are, however, allowed to host international meets under a grandfather clause, but we don’t know how long it is going to last,” he informs.

A grandfather clause is an exemption that allows people or entities to continue with activities that were approved before the implementation of new rules.

Major Brown says one of the recent requirements for hosting sporting events is for venues to have a designated anti-doping facility.

He notes, however, that when the Stadium was built, “dope testing” was not part of the requirements.

“Right now, what we do is to convert a changing room into a doping station, which is not the best thing. They [also] now require that athletes and officials should not enter the Stadium in the same area, and our media facility is grossly inadequate,” he informs, adding that the changing rooms, bathrooms, storage, security and catering facilities need improvement.

The redevelopment project will include an increase of the seating capacity to between 35,000 to 40,000.

“We are going to take out the cycle track, which is no longer useable. That will give us more space and bring the spectators closer to the action,” Major Brown indicates.

He discloses that the outdated 500-metre cycle track that borders the running track inside the Stadium will be replaced by a modern 250-metre velodrome.

“A modern velodrome has much steeper sides. It’s much smaller, about 250 to 300 metres. In fact, what we have to do now, when our athletes are training [is] they have to be sent to either Cuba or Trinidad [and Tobago]. They can’t train on [the Stadium velodrome] because when they go on a proper velodrome, it is totally different,” he further informs.

Major Brown also advises that the media area will be upgraded with fixed wired connections.

“What we are looking at is… if a station comes in all they have to do is to plug in their cameras. We will also have a built-in mixing console (sound mixer) that will take in outside broadcasts… so there is no need for people running wires,” he outlines.

A major part of the redevelopment will include a complete overhaul of the bleachers to include the removal of all existing bench seats.

These will be replaced with individually numbered seats as well as a partial covering, similar to the grandstand area.

The General Manager says the number of female restrooms will also be increased, as more women are now attending sporting events at the venue.

“There is not enough for the people and when the Stadium was built you had far more men than women attending events. Now we know far more women are coming now. So, what you find at an event [is] the male bathrooms are taken over by the women,” he notes.

The redevelopment project will be undertaken on a phased basis, to enable the Stadium to continue facilitating events during the period.

“[For] the first stage, we plan to take out the eastern section, which will get rid of about 10,000 seats which would be rebuilt. When that is finished, we’ll take out the north and the south sides. So… even though we will lose a third of our seats, the facility will still be useable,” Major Brown said.