NISC upgrades necessary for FIBA Qualifiers
Published:Sunday | November 2, 2025 | 12:08 AMGregory Bryce - Staff Reporter
Paulton Gordon, president of the Jamaica Basketball Association (JBA), says they will need to make several equipment upgrades to the National Indoor Sports Centre (NISC) before they can begin hosting games for the FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers.
Jamaica will be competing at this stage in the World Cup qualifiers for the first time.
The JamRockerz are drawn in Pool B, alongside Canada, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.
Jamaica will host two of their three games, having confirmed they will be unable to host their first game against Puerto Rico.
Following FIBA’s inspection of the NISC, Gordon explained they were given a list of requirements before the venue was cleared to host international games.
With Jamaica’s first game set for next month, the association realised they would be unable to make the changes in time and opted to play the fixture in Puerto Rico.
“We did the inspection on September 19 and then they sent us a list of requirements about a week after. Typically, what they want is to clear the venue two months before the hosting, which is November 28, and we realised that we couldn’t put all things in place in such a short turnaround,” the JBA president explained.
However, he confirmed the changes will be made in time for the remaining games, where Jamaica will face Bahamas and Canada on February 26 and March 1, respectively.
MODERN EQUIPMENT
Chief among FIBA’s requirement is the installation of a new scoreboard.
Gordon said the association is currently looking into the best way to acquire the scoreboard, as well as hiring professionals to handle its installation.
The scoreboard is expected to cost in excess of US$22,000 (approx J$3,520,000).
“One of the things that FIBA wants us to ensure is that we have the correct scoreboard. When we did our investigations, it will cost somewhere in the region of USD$22,000 to USD$23,000,” he explained.
“Then afterwards, we will have to bring a person in to set it up. So that’s something that we’re looking at.”
Another area of concern during the venue inspection was lighting.
Gordon explained the NISC currently does not meet the required lumens needed for FIBA’s broadcasting standards, but ensured this issue will be remedied.
“Lighting was something they looked at as well, and that can be addressed easily,” he insisted.
“We host a lot of shows in Kingston, and in Jamaica generally. So we can easily get up to the requisite lighting that they’d want for the broadcast.”
Gordon also explained there are several other minor upgrades, including new basketball hoops and the number of rooms for teams, press areas and doping control stations.
He said these issues can be readily fixed and should not pose an issue with hosting games in Jamaica.
“There are a couple of things that we have to look at. The hoops that we have here are not the very best, so we’re trying to look at those as well,” he said.
“There other minor things that can be easily corrected,” he continued. “Like the number of rooms available for the teams, for doping, for PR communications, for the referees, etcetera.”
MAJOR MILESTONE
Gordon said hosting games in Jamaica will be a major milestone for the national team and the association, who have been working for years to reach this stage.
He said the goal is to see how far they can go in achieving their dream of competing in the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Qatar
“It is a big part of our learning curve and we’re pretty much preparing as best as possible. We were very strategic in terms of what we were trying to get done,” he said.
“We’re trying to look at the human resources in and around the team, and also players available to us. I think we have a nice unit coming together now, and we want to make a really, really good push in qualifying for Qatar 2027.”