Multi-sport facility for Boys' Town

THE Boys' Town Committee plans for a major renovation of the Collie Smith Complex which will be transformed into a state-of-the-art mini-stadium complex, where a variety of sports can be played.

Lyndel Wright, a Boys' Town board director, revealed at the club's 75th anniversary launch on Friday that plans are already in motion and they just need the finance to get the project off the ground.

"The design of the plans we have has been completed. What we need now is more details on the final plans to make it a reality. I hope this will be done in the next years.

"Boys' Town's redesign is quite unique," he added. "Certainly it will be different from what has been established at Arnett Gardens or (Edward Seaga Sports Complex).

"We would like to have lights, because night cricket is now global and we want to expose night cricket to our young people and those who participate in football," he said.

He continued that the only thing keeping the project from beginning are funds to finance the start of the development of the complex.

"Sponsorship is very important. So we need the influence and support of corporate Jamaica.

"We want to establish more than a mini-stadium, so our youngsters in Trench Town and west Kingston can be exposed to basketball, netball, tennis and other activities," he said.

Boy's Town's football coach, board director and chair of the sports council, Andrew Price, said the plans are still in the early days but expects work to get under way within a year.

"There are some overarching plans that we have for the medium term, probably a five to 10 year plan where we will look at improving the entire sports complex and where you will have a new entrance on Spanish Town road," he said.