THE continued renovation of Independence Park is on track and is about to enter a new phase as soon as funds become available. This was revealed recently by Minister of Sport Olivia Grange and members of the board of Independence Park Limited (IPL), which is responsible for the development and maintenance of the facility.

Minister Grange, who spoke with the press while touring the facility to observe the finishing work being done on the running track inside the stadium, shared where things were at the moment in the development plans to modernise the facility.

“We are on track! No pun intended. The entire stadium complex, and particularly the National Stadium, based on the plans we have, will be rebuilt. All the seats will be replaced, most of the stadium will be covered, and we will have a Royal Box area and state-of-the-art technology in place.”

Mike Fennell who is the chairman of the board at IPL, said that things were now at the “execution phase”.

“Everybody is agreed on the renovation plans. We are now going into the execution phase. COVID has disrupted a number of things but we have been reassured by the Government that this renovation commitment is still intact and will still be going ahead, because it is a major facility for sport in Jamaica — and not just sport.”

The renovation will be done in three phases, based on the availability of funds to facilitate them.

“Each of those phases for the renovation have been clearly defined and how we execute them will be dependent on the financing that is available. Let’s not fool ourselves, Jamaica has to revise its own cash usage. The pandemic has caused a situation, and if you see what the minister of finance has said, he is looking at various ways — but in all of that we have been assured of the commitment to proceed with the renovation plans.

“It’s going to take some time and it will all not be done in one year, but we have to know that our targets are set and we are going to keep our eyes on it.”

When pressed for timelines Fennell indicated what areas of the renovations are likely to take priority.

“Certain things will be done over the next year, certain things will be done the following year and whether we have to revise some of those things based on where we are now, I am not sure. We are constantly reviewing this and things such as when do we take out this 500m cycle track, when do we put in the various skyboxes, when do we put in the individual seats, when do we improve the lighting. We are trying to reorganise the priorities so that we can have a smooth transition from where we are now into a modern stadium.”

Major Desmond Brown, who is the general manager of IPL, reiterated that things were on track and financing would be the major factor in the beginning of the next phase, now that the laying of the new track is virtually complete.

“Just to confirm what the minister said, the process that we are in now, we are on track in terms of the development of the details. After we are finished that will go to the Ministry of Finance [which] will then dictate when the finances are available.”

The minister also indicated that plans are in place to ensure that Independence Park becomes self-sustainable.

“Mr Fennell chairs a committee that I have established to seek and to engage international bodies and organisations in bringing major events to Jamaica, so when we do all of this the idea is to be able to sustain it.

“Sustainability is important so we will be going after major events, but not only that, even local events. The renovations will include where we can host small events, we can host conferences — so that we are not just dependent on major events but [that] there is some way of ensuring that we can constantly host activities that will ensure that there is sustainability, and we can finance our operations.”

There was also good news for cycling as Grange indicated that they will be getting a dedicated space for themselves at Independence Park.

“We have already identified a location where we will have a development for the cycling association and also be able to host international events. It will be on the IPL complex [and] those details will be announced.”

This will be welcome news for sporting bodies and personnel as plans for the reopening of sports on the island gain momentum.