LOCAL engineer Tommy Leow-Chin yesterday conducted an inspection of the National Stadium at the behest of its operators, Independence Park Limited (IPL), after officials from the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) raised concerns about the structural integrity of the facility.

“He (Leow-Chin) is one of the foremost structural engineers in the country,” IPL’s general manager Major Desmon Brown told the Observer.

City Engineer Norman Shand and a KSAC team which included Kingston mayor Desmond McKenzie, conducted an inspection of the facility a few weeks ago and in a report dated March 19, noted several concerns with the grandstand section of the facility.

“There was evidence of cracks in the slabs and beams on the cantilever,” Shand told the Observer.

“There was also patchwork of cement work in certain areas, rusting and other signs where there seem to be leaks and watermarks which suggest the cracks may be from the outside,” he added.

McKenzie, in an interview with the Observer, in the meantime, called the stadium a “death trap” and said the significance of this week’s ‘Champs 100’ celebration was the only reason it was being allowed to go ahead.

While in disagreement with McKenzie’s pronouncement, Brown requested an independent inspection of the National Stadium.

The former army man has himself called the Stadium archaic and pointed out that all other stadia of its kind had long since been demolished.

Brown, who has made a case for a new stadium with modern facilities, possibly in the Caymanas area of St Catherine, pointed out that despite its current issues, the National Stadium was considered “state-of-the-art” when it was built in 1962.