MONTEGO BAY, St James – Member of Parliament for St James Central Lloyd B Smith has called for the construction of an indoor facility to host basketball games in Montego Bay.

Smith who spoke at Saturday’s opening of the Flow National Basketball League-West at the Montego Bay Cricket Club, said he had started discussions with President of the Jamaica Basketball Association (JBA), Ajani Williams — who was in attendance at the event.

“We need to start looking for a piece of land where we can use for this facility,” Smith said, and offered to work with the Western Basketball Association (WBA), as they seek to improve the game in the region.

Smith also announced that he had “adopted” Railway Lane Tigers — one of the six teams participating in the tournament — and would be assisting them in getting equipment and gear, noting that the team is located in his constituency.

Douglas Reid, deputy general secretary of JBA who also addressed the function noted that the league was starting later than usual, as he called for a fixed starting date.

The league has started at different times over the last three seasons and this Reid argued was cause for concern. He added that the matter would be addressed by the national association.

Reid also told the gathering that there were plans for “year-round basketball” in western Jamaica, which will include a series of mini-tournaments that would keep the players active and in shape.

Six teams led by defending champions Catherine Hall All-stars are participating in the competition that is expected to run until the first week of July.

The other teams are Granville Jaguars, MoBay Hoopers, Railway Tigers and promoted teams Sav Hawks and Lucea Flames.