WHY THE RELUCTANCE TO GIVE UTECH TRELAWNY STADIUM?

In July 2011, the Jamaica Observer reported that the University of Technology was planning to invest J$250 million in developing the university’s western campus on a property adjacent to the stadium in Greenfield, Trelawny. Utech also had plans to acquire the stadium that was built to host matches at the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup held here in the Caribbean.

The previous government dragged their feet mulling whether or not to allow Utech to take control of the stadium, inaction that the JLP now admits was wrong. That administration lost power in December 2011 and the current administration assumed responsibility of making a decision.

Just this week, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller killed that Utech plan, announcing that she would not allow the university to pursue its plans in that regard. Minister Natalie Neita Headley, who has responsibility for sport, claims that the stadium is to be developed for the community for the use of the people.

But what do Minister Neita-Headley’s words ‘developed for the community for the use of the people’ really mean? I pray it doesn’t mean that the Trelawny stadium is doomed to a fate similar to the Sligoville stadium. That one was also being developed for the use of the people. These days that stadium is a run-down rust-covered shadow of its former self. The money for that facility was granted by the Chinese and they have expressed their own disappointment at the subsequent fate of that rusty ‘white elephant’ in Sligoville, St. Catherine.

With the goat population already beginning to see the seaside stadium as home, I certainly hope that a similar fate doesn’t befall the Trelawny facility.

Here’s the question though; since the Government says their intention is to develop the facility for the people, wouldn’t giving Utech access be the same thing? After all, Utech was planning to develop the property, establish a sports-related curriculum and provide a place for students from western Jamaica to have access to tertiary education and not have to travel and live on the eastern side of the island at great expense. They could even call it the Usain Bolt/Utech Campus since it is so close to William Knibb, the high school Bolt attended while he was still developing his incredible speed and personality.

The other factor is that developing the facility will cost money, money which the Government does not have. Where does Government plan to get the money to undertake this so-called ‘development’? With that in mind, wouldn’t it be more cost effective to have Utech raise the necessary funding to do what they planned to do with the stadium? Besides, turning the stadium over to Utech would absolve Government of the more than one million dollars it costs to maintain it each month.

If Utech takes control of the stadium, it will be transformed into a money making entity since tuition fees and other ancillary fees would help cover whatever costs would be associated with maintaining it. It would also still be accessible to the community for football and cricket matches at the school and community level. The Jazz Festival could still be held there since education is also a cultural experience. It would also provide a perfect platform for Utech to give their hospitality students valuable work experience helping to prepare for the festival each year.

It would be a win/win situation.

But let’s say the Government wants to be an integral part of whatever happens with the Trelawny Stadium; I mean they did squander US$25 million on it, there would be nothing to prevent them from doing that. Utech is a government institution and perhaps, if they work in conjunction with each other, they could have monthly events there from which the Government could get their fair share of whatever revenue is generated.

That’s certainly better than spending 12-million a year on something that was clearly built with no future plans in mind. Why do I say this? The stadium is six years old and since the cricket world cup the stadium has only been used a handful of occasions. That suggests to me that nobody had given thought to what it was to be used for once the world cup ended in 2007. Perhaps they thought the world was going to end.

Come to think of it, maybe the world has ended because that’s the only way I can make sense over the nonsense that keeps happening where this stadium is concerned.