I visited the new US$30 million Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium during its hosting of last weekend's three-day Jehovah's Witness Convention and was pleased to note that, contrary to reports, the facility was very much intact and was not being vandalised.

In fact, except for signs of recent bushing and a parched-looking playing surface, the stadium looked no different than it did back on March 11, when it hosted the spectacular Cricket World Cup opening ceremony, which still remained arguably the proudest moment for the Caribbean in the entire tournament.

no vandalism

So, as to fully satisfy myself about the status of the stadium, I made sure that I walked every section of the facility to ensure the facility did not only appear intact but was intact. As a consequence, I now feel I have the authority to say categorically that there is absolutely no truth to the vandalism claim and the other claims of steady deteriorating.

However, while I am pleased that the stadium is intact, after seeing it again in all its splendour, I am still disappointed that its future is now in limbo, pending the appointment of a management team, which many had anticipated would have been put in place immediately after the World Cup.

I was also a little bit concerned about the parched state of the playing surface, which was so lush, green and inviting during the World Cup warm-up games that were played there. However, according to an experienced maintenance worker I spoke to, the surface could be put back to its former lush green state within a few weeks.

While the staging of the Jehovah's Witness Convention would not be my first choice if I were responsible for renting the facility, it was somewhat encouraging that, after several months of inactivity, the stadium was again seeing some semblance of life. In fact, with its hefty JA$4 million monthly maintenance bill, it must be important that the facility starts earning its keep.

Based on recent statements by Government spokesman Danny Buchanan, a three-month extension has been granted to Jamaica Cricket 2007, the group that managed the stadium during the World Cup. Let us hope that come September when their contract extension expires, the Government will move swiftly to put the promised permanent management committee in place.

It is my hope that the permanent management committee will consist of people with sound management and business skills and not just merely friends of the Government, who in most cases are usually persons more into profiling than doing real work. Based on the cost involved in creating the facility, it would be downright stupid to make it into a political football.

I have no doubt in my mind that the stadium has the capacity to pay for itself several times over. My concern is about the length of time it will take to achieve such a goal. If it is managed properly, especially in the area of marketing and sports tourism, I strongly suspect that in four to five years it could be done.

construct more stadiums

Should the stadium pay for itself quickly, I hope the Government will be motivated to construct other such facilities across the island.

Personally, I would love to see every single parish in Jamaica having a stadium, not necessarily as spectacular as the Trelawny facility, but good enough to meet international standards.

Personally, I believe it would be absolutely unacceptable, especially against the background of the nation-building capacity of sports, if the next generation is forced to wait for the same 45 years my generation had to wait between the construction of the National Stadium in 1962 and the building of the Trelawny Stadium in 2007.

Insofar as the arguments about the stadium becoming a white elephant are concerned, I am hoping that such sentiments will go away once the silly season of the general elections expires on August 27.

NB. Send your comments to adrianfrater@hotmail.com.