Multimillion-dollar white elephant

WESTERN BUREAU:

Non-operational for several years, the Montego Bay Sports Complex is now bleeding the public purse, costing the St James Municipal Corporation $50 million annually while bringing in very little revenue.

Sporting stakeholders in western Jamaica are concerned by an apparent lack of interest to reopen the facility, which was a gift from the Venezuelan government to the people of St James.

Naudia Crosskill, the newly appointed CEO of the St James Municipal Corporation, did not provide a breakdown of the monthly maintenance for the 13-year-old complex, but revealed that since the start of the financial year (April to July), expenditure for the facility amounted to $7.4 million, while it only brought in $2.4 million from nine entertainment events hosted in the parking lots.

Its all-weather synthetic track – the only one in the western end of the island – has deteriorated over the years and was deemed unfit for use five years ago amid fears that athletes could suffer serious injuries running on the surface.

But while athletic events were barred, in April, two racing cars gained access to the facility and were allowed to drive on the running surface, sparking outrage among track and field enthusiasts. Top race car driver Doug ‘Hollywood’ Gore later confirmed his involvement and apologised publicly.

Montego Bay Deputy Mayor Richard Vernon said that an investigation was launched into the incident, but it has since stalled after the caretaker for the complex resigned and refused to divulge any information.

Officially opened in 2010, the Catherine Hall-based facility was built at a cost of J$1.4 billion with a seating capacity of 7,000. The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) was charged with responsibility for the complex.

As the management of the facility began to breakdown, insiders say over the years recommendations were made for a shift in how the affairs of the complex were being handled, but they were never acted upon.

“The understanding was that the management committee for the stadium would include a representative from football, athletics, tennis, swimming, and all the sporting disciplines in the parish,” businessman and owner of the Montego Bay United football team, Orville Powell, recalled. “But the UDC eventually handed it over to the parish council and all the plans we had just came to nothing because no regard was ever shown to the sporting bodies.”

According to Crosskill, there is currently no management oversight committee in place for the complex, noting that all matters are handled by the Infrastructure Committee of St James Municipal Corporation.

An advisory board is also in place, headed by businessman Jason Russell, who told The Sunday Gleaner last week that an operational/management proposal will be presented to the municipal corporation shortly.

“I was tasked to put together a plan of action, which will be presented to the Commercial Services Committee at their next sitting,” said Russell. “A proposal is being prepared as we speak, so you could see increased activities if they accept what is to be presented.”

‘ABSOLUTE DISGRACE AND INSULT’

Veteran journalist and sports administrator Adrian Frater said the decision to have the local authority manage the complex was ill-advised. He is calling for the responsibility to be given to reputable sporting experts.

“It is an absolute disgrace and insult to the sporting legacy in western Jamaica that has produced a Usain Bolt, a Veronica Campbell-Brown, and a Merlene Ottey. Now we have young athletes in western Jamaica running on a dirt track because these very irresponsible people allow the stadium to fall into the state it is today,” Frater told The Sunday Gleaner.

“We have always had a mismanagement committee, and they replace one mismanagement committee with another one, so the stadium has never been managed properly from 2010 until now. Giving the friends of politicians such a responsibility is very foolish when we can be better served with the experience of an Orville Powell or a Ray Harvey, who have shown their love for sports and for the people of Montego Bay,” he added.

The St James Municipal Corporation has so far resisted several offers for a private-public partnership arrangement, but recently, it announced plans to spend $7 million to rehabilitate the football field at the complex.

However, Frater is of the view that the closure of the complex is a greater loss for athletics than football.

“We have several football fields around, but we never had a proper running track in western Jamaica. This was the only synthetic 400-metre international [standard] track in western Jamaica, and it has remained in disrepair, while other facilities have been getting attention over and over,” he charged.

DISRUPT SCHOOLS SPORTS PROGRAMMES

The unavailability of the track has disrupted the development of sporting programme in schools in the county of Cornwall, forcing popular meets like the Western Primary School Athletics Championships, the Western Championship for high schools, and the Milo Western Relays to seek venues in other parishes.

“With these three meets, you have exposure to all levels of competition, from the little ones to the big ones, and that is how development is created,” Ray Harvey, the Milo Western Relays organising committee chairman, explained.

“The fact that we have not been able to stage these developmental meets that a few of us have worked very hard to put in place means that our development programme is now dead.”

Harvey was forced to take his event to the track at the G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport in St Catherine, which has been a tremendous strain logistically.

“We have kept the event alive with the hope that we would one day return to Montego Bay because we have received so many promises,” Harvey said.

“In Montego Bay, there are 4,000 to 5,000 spectators cheering on the athletes. Relatives are present to see their athletes and that is a tremendous motivation to them as they perform.”

Western Primary School Athletics Championships was the event that officially opened the Montego Bay Sports Complex in 2010. Albert Ferguson, meet director and chairman of the organisation committee, believes that exposing young athletes to competition on the Mondotrack from an early age was an easy sell to sponsors.

“But now, staging the annual Western Primary Schools Athletic Championships at venues other than at the Montego Bay Sports Complex has been a logistical nightmare,” Ferguson told The Sunday Gleaner.

“We made this venue our home because there is a special vibe when the sponsors and patrons enjoy the entertainment we provide in staging this championship.”

In 2019, Ferguson shifted the meet to the St Elizabeth Technical High School Sports Complex, but while the Santa Cruz-based facility is well equipped, finding adequate accommodation was an added challenge.

This year, the event returned to the grass field of Cornwall College in St James, where it was held for the first time in 2009, but Ferguson said this robbed them of the ability to effectively market the event.

“Sponsors cannot see the benefits of using a venue that does not have adequate and comfortable seating and areas to market and distribute their products, so we are barely keeping afloat but for the love of the sport,” he said.

LACK OF EXPERIENCE

Last week, Orville Powell told The Sunday Gleaner team that all attempts to engage the St James Municipal Corporation on tangible plans for the facility have been resisted or ignored.

Powell, who owns Westpow Park, one of the premier sporting grounds in the Second City, said he has expressed an interest in managing the facility.

“Seven million dollars to rehabilitate the stadium football field and the timeline given shows you that those in charge are not experienced in what they are doing,” he stated. “I approached the parish council several times, and even recently, I asked for a meeting to discuss the multi-purpose stadium, but not as much as an acknowledgement [was received].”

CEO Crosskill told The Sunday Gleaner that she has not received any offer from any private entity since assuming office two months ago.

mark.titus@gleanerjm.com