TICKETS for the Grandstand for the last two days of last week’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships at the National Stadium were among the hottest items.

For the past six years or so, demand for tickets at Champs — especially the final two days — has far outstripped supply. It has caused angry confrontations that have led to fights and accusations of unsavoury practices against those in charge.

As far back as a month before Champ, I received international and local calls beseeching my help to get tickets.

Unfortunately, if any what little, influence I have, did not extend that far. For the most part, I tried my best to stay as far away from the ticket scenario as I could.

We heard weeks before Champs that grandstand tickets for the last two days had been completely sold out.

Given the scenario it was expected that Grandstand seats for both Friday and Saturday would be filled to capacity but that was not the case.

There were lots of seats available on both Friday and Saturday and the ‘touters’ outside the stadium’s main entrance were waving tickets and charging as high as $4500, more than twice the face value of the tickets.

While ISSA admitted to deliberately underselling tickets for the bleachers on the last two days to try to minimise any possible incidents, it seems they have to go back to the drawing board where the fair and equitable distribution of Grandstand tickets are concerned.

Among the possibilities that were discussed as to why there were so many empty seats, were that maybe some of those who were given complimentary tickets, including principals and sponsors, did not bother to show up.

As to how so many tickets were still available to those who were illegally selling them is another matter, but I suspect that given the ‘creativity’ of us Jamaicans, it may be out of the hands of ISSA or even the police to try and curtail that activity.

Getting Grandstand tickets for Champs has been a vexing issue for the past couple of years and short of building a new and bigger stadium, the authorities could start looking at ways of expanding the seating capacity in the Grandstand.

I am no engineer and I am aware the KSAC warned recently that the over-40-year-old structure was badly in need of repair.

Whatever the decision, it is obvious we have outgrown the Grandstand facility at the stadium.

We notice the Chinese who are trying hard to get a foot in here have been building facilities all over the Caribbean — the latest one being in the Bahamas. Maybe they could give us a nice 50,000-seater facility as a gift.

We have the lands and, I am sure, the manpower to build it.