MLB to assist with field at Trelawny Stadium

Friday, March 05, 2010

PLANS to construct a baseball field at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium will be fast-tracked now that Major League Baseball (MLB) has offered to assist the Government.

This was disclosed today during a press briefing at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture following earlier discussions with Sport Minister Olivia Grange and MLB's manager of international baseball operations for Latin America, Renaldo Peralta, who is on a three-day visit to the island.

"The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sports will have its work manifest through the Institute of Sports. It is my greatest pleasure to announce that a baseball diamond (field) in Trelawny will be a reality," Grange said while displaying a master development plan for the Trelawny facility.

A section of the multi-faceted plan includes a field for baseball which could be implemented before the laying of a 400-metre Mundo track.

"We're most certain that it won't be our last time here," stated the Nicaraguan-born Peralta. "The support from the Jamaican Government brings excitement. We want to totally help develop the game and present the youths of Jamaica with new opportunities."

Peralta's visit, which ends tomorrow, has been largely due to the efforts of INSPORTS, the state agency responsible for sports development in Jamaica.

Lead director of the pilot progamme Donovan Corcho says baseball is a sport many Jamaicans can excel at based on their natural athletic ability.

The main goal is to implement baseball, one of North America's most popular sports, through the schools, starting at the primary level.

Jamaica stands to benefit even more with additional aid in the form of gear and equipment from the Babe Ruth Little League Baseball World Series.

Jamaican-born Andrew Dixon, a former professional baseball player, is a member of the Babe Ruth Little League Baseball World Series and is excited about the new development. He sees this initiative as a way of giving back to Jamaica.

Through the efforts of Dixon and the Babe Ruth Little League Baseball World Series vice-president Tim Surrency, Jamaica is set to receive shipments of baseball items for the upcoming pilot project that involves 12 Corporate Area primary schools.

Meanwhile, Grange urged Peralta to "sell" Jamaica as a country that enhances all sports "using our most recent adoption of skiing during the just-concluded Winter Olympics in Canada".

POST A COMMENT

You must first register and then login to be able to post a comment.

HOUSE RULES

1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper – email addresses will not be published.

2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.

3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.

4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.

5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.

6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.

7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, and before commenting you need to register, conveniently, by clicking the link above.

COMMENTS (4)

James Ozermann
3/6/2010

Talk about selling out our own for the highest bidder! We screw over UTECH for what exactly? Baseball? A game that isn't even part of our culture (I guess we can now start to watch cricket slide into oblivion even faster than we thought) has taken priority over the education of our people.

Not only have we shot ourselves in the foot, but we seem to have blown it right off so much so that soon enough we won't even have a leg to stand on!
Ladies and gentlemen please get your umbrellas out as the great eagle is circling looking for a place to land another part of their "culture" on our heads...

Marlon Gillette
3/5/2010

Plush, i echo your comments. Our Political Leaders are all from the Commonwealth generation that have drunk the "anything from farin betta" quench Aid. how can you as the government preach eat what you grow, grow what you eat ,yet, deny a local institution the sporting arena then turn around and give it to foreigners.....sell Jamaica as a multi sport country that will import a foreign sport.. while every tournament the JNA have to go to the public hat in hand..... fire bun dem people dey... as muta sey who is DEM....

Stephen Gunter
3/5/2010

Interesting to see Minister Grange jump on the bandwagon of the efforts of Mr Kerr at the Winter Olympics. Listening to her, one would think that the entire force of her Ministry was behind his single effort, when the reality is very different.
"Our recent adoption" indeed.

plush plush
3/5/2010

Whats up with the Utech bid? Is it the construction of a baseball field that was in the pipeline? At a time when we are all stressing education I find this development brainless. Even if the stadium was given free of cost to Utech it would be a giant step in the right direction. Are you all aware of the amount of students who are denied an opportunity yearly to pursue several programs? This is such a sick joke.

Do you feel buying into Facebook now is a good investment for the long-run?
	Yes
	No

View Results
Results published weekly in Sunday Finance

Username:
Password:

Teen killed for laughing at man who fell from bicycle

MLB to assist with field at Trelawny Stadium