[dropcap]P[/dropcap]lease note this is the second of a previous article last week that dealing primarily with the Master Plan for Sports in the south of the island. In Part Two, sports facilities in the north was the main focus during a recent press conference with Sports Consultant, Don Lockerbie.
Plans for the north Phase Two: The Gros Islet Secondary School is still being mentioned as a middle and secondary school for elite athletes and will also serve as a boarding school. According to Lockerbie, the St Lucia Football Association Inc has endorsed this Sports Academy and he expects the facility to be operational in early 2019.
Commenting on the Sports Academy he said: “The Gros Islet Secondary School has been selected as this world class Sports Academy. Trust me we brought in consultants who have world class education experience as well as sports academy experience, in addition we will also be upgrading sporting facilities at the Gros Islet Secondary school.”
Lockerbie labeled facilities that were mentioned in the previous article as shovel ready projects, meaning they are almost ready to begin construction.
He then went on to define study ready projects which he said: “Need more detailed master planning before they are ready for public scrutiny and Town Hall meetings for us to figure out what to do next.”
The dilapidated George Odlum Stadium was listed among the study ready projects. It is still undecided what to do with the facility, which also serves as a makeshift hospital.
“What do we do with George Odlum Stadium,” he asked. “Effectively it has been condemned. When the hospital moves what we do with the stadium. We are not ready to give that answer yet and are still studying it.”
The Sports Consultant then turned his attention to the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (DSCG), which according to him will be incorporated into the Beausejour Sports District. In his estimation, the DSCG needs an upgrade as well as the Indoor Facility located nearby.
The so called Beausejour Sports District also incorporates the National Tennis Centre and does have room for expansion. Lockerbie told the media: “There is other land there and so we are looking to potentially and this potentially on the radar, to build a running track and synthetic turf football field on the outskirts of the cricket ground.”
He didn’t stop there: “We are also looking to potentially develop a public swim complex and then you would have in that region, football, athletics, cricket, tennis, swimming and indoor sports space. What that will also do, is take the present Gros Islet field and leave it exclusively for cricket, with courts above that cricket ground which we will look to improve as well. We believe this is a really great initiative for the north.”
Other venues being addressed in Phase Two are Mindoo Phillip Park, Marchand Grounds, Sab Playing Facility, Vigie Multi-Purpose Sports Complex and the Boxing Gym at Vigie. In Lockerbies’ estimation, all the major communities will be seeing improvements to their venues.
The Daher Mall which for years has been nothing more than an eye sore, received rave reviews from Lockerbie. He envisioned this massive structure becoming “frankly the regions first world class indoor sport and entertainment events multi-purpose arena.”
In other words St Lucia’s own Madison Square Gardens, capable of staging multi events like concerts, trade shows, boat shows, car shows, religious events, conferences, retail outlets, banks, etc.
In closing the man spearheading St Lucia’s Master Sports Plan for sports development said: “To show that the initiative is real, we put out a worldwide tender to try and locate companies involved with synthetic turf and running tracks, basketball courts, volleyball courts, netball courts, cricket grounds, along with practice batting cage nets and swimming pools as well. Lighting companies, score board companies, video board companies all of the elements that are necessary for upgrading our sporting infrastructure.”
And what about the tender! Lockerbie said: “We sent to nine sporting conglomerates around the world and seven responded. After an intense review with the government of an appointed Selection Committee – a Committee that is chaired by Mr Estephane [Minister of Youth Development and Sports] and also included Mr Stanislaus, Minister Lenard Montoute and other members of the community, we narrowed it down to four major worldwide conglomerates.”
Lockerbie pointed out that he has proposals from the four finalists and that 12 representatives recently arrived in St Lucia, to tour the venues and met with Prime Minister Allan Chastanet along with the Selection Committee at the Harbor Club conference room, where they presented their bid.
He ended by saying: “The company that will be selected will enter into an agreement with the government to do the five facilities we have talked about and then would have the right of first refusal if those go well to continue the next phase. In other words, we look to have a long term partnership with one of these companies. We have not selected them there is more work to do. We have to kick some tires because these are the four finalists. They have presented us with facilities they have constructed all around the region and the States.”
A decision on which company has been selected is expected to be made sometime this month.
During a question and answer session, Lockerbie was asked where is government getting the money for everything you spoke about. He replied, “I am not the government but I have shaken the hand of the Ambassador of Taiwan.
When asked to clarify his statement, Lockerbie remained evasive and would only say, “I play golf with him.”
However, he later replied “yes” to a reporter when asked will the Taiwanese play a major role.
Lockerbie did not disclose how much he’s being paid for services, but there have been reports the figure could be as high as $30 million.
Stay tuned!
