Dear Editor,

I am a concerned Jamaican who recently attended the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Championship on Saturday, March 29, 2014. As the day progressed, at around 4:00 pm it was brought to my attention that the security guards were ordered to close the gate in order to prevent more patrons from entering the National Stadium.

To questioning they replied that the fire brigade stated that the National Stadium had surpassed its capacity. As a result paid patrons were prevented from entering the National Stadium to watch the championships. Any venue such as the National Stadium has to know the stipulated maximum capacity. This is not the first year that the National Stadium has been full to capacity.

I must, therefore, ask the following questions:

1) Is it the practice of organisers such as ISSA to print more tickets than the venue’s capacity with the hope that not all persons who purchase tickets will attend the event?

2) How do organisers account for complementary attendants, officials, participants who later occupy seats after participating?

3) What controls are put in place at the gates, by ISSA, to ensure that legitimate tickets are used to provide entry.

4) How does the fire department determine that the maximum capacity has been reached; is it by mere visual estimation or are there counters at each point of entry recording the number of attendees?

5) For persons who purchased tickets and were prevented from entering the National Stadium, how will they be reimbursed? I am recommending that an audit be conducted to determine how many tickets ISSA printed each day to determine if it was incongruent with the venue’s capacity, taking into account the complementary passes, the participants, officials, etc.

And an audit be conducted into the controls implemented by ISSA to ensure that legitimate ticket holders are not disenfranchised from entering the venue. The Consumer Affairs Commission should investigate the situation.

Rashaun S

St Andrew