PORT MARIA, St Mary — The overgrown shrubs, piles of garbage, vandalised changing room and remnants of a disintegrated rusty fence are telltale signs of the neglect plaguing Clemhards Park — the main football field in the St Mary capital.

It is the stomping ground for Star Cosmos Football Club — a former premier league team out of Port Maria — and it is also used by other teams, including the St Mary High School football teams.

The St Mary Municipal Corporation owns the property, but its chairman Richard Creary told the Jamaica Observer that the entity does not have enough money to undertake improvement projects such as spectator stands.

Lights were installed recently to facilitate night games at the faclity and Dr Morais Guy, Member of Parliament for St Mary Central where the playing field is located, told Parliament last week that the lighting was funded by the Constituency Development Fund and a Tourism Product Development Company spruce-up programme.

“The next phase is to get the proper fencing for the pitch and then spectator stands,” said Guy as he underscored that the unavailability of funds had delayed installation of the lights.

Though expressing gratitude for the lighting, residents of Port Maria, who spoke with the Observer, lamented the relatively long wait for a general upgrade of the facility.

George Ross, a director of Star Cosmos Football Club, said he had contributed to the upkeep of the facility but he is unable to continue because of the fall-off in business as a result of the ban imposed on spectator sports as part of ongoing efforts to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“The whole facility is not getting any financial support from the municipality, the Member of Parliament, and the councillor — nothing at all. It is like self-reliance where me and probably two others try to facilitate the whole upkeep of it. But it gets so overwhelming, where my funds alone can’t do everything. A simple thing like a community centre, is me pay for the light there,” said Ross.

“I think the municipality should be responsible for the light and the water. If we are having an event we have to go to the municipality and pay for it. They are not contributing anything to maintain the park… The light is there now; I can’t knock it. But the facility needs security; it needs proper fencing. The playing surface nuh wonderful, but it can work, but the outskirts of the playing field terrible with bush all over. It is like a mini forest and the people use it like a dumping ground,” added Ross.

He said his voluntary work at Clemhards Park often had very little impact due to vandalism resulting from the sporting facility not being fenced. Ross accused residents — mainly children — of repeatedly vandalising pipes as well as the building that houses the bathroom, kitchen, changing rooms, and a bar.

Another resident of Port Maria, Leon Ellis, underscored the importance of having a perimeter fence, noting that it will become necessary for admission fees to be charged to fund the maintenance of the park.

“Yuh have to pay light bill, so yuh haffi charge people fi come in . If yuh nuh fence it, it nuh mek sense,” argued Ellis. “The light [at the facility] alright, yes, but it need the surrounding to clean up and wi need to have stands and so forth.”

A justice of the peace, Carl Oldfield, who lives at Pagee district — walking distance from the playing field — told the Observer that rehabilitation of the facility is long overdue.

“You know how long I hear that money was granted for seating. Seats should have been put in for the premier league and I don’t see any seat,” said Oldfield.

“I see light put up now, so I am hoping that the seats will be put in, and the perimeter fencing will be repaired so that we can have a proper enclosed facility. It is one of the only recreational parks that we have here [in Port Maria] that is regularly used by the community and outsiders.”

Carol McDonald, another Port Maria resident, opined that, if her hometown had proper facilities, more young people would have become involved in meaningful activities, such as sports, instead of idling and abusing drugs.

“Port Maria want recreation for the young people – the young people don’t have anywhere to go,” declared McDonald.

“The young men don’t even have a proper football field and the girls don’t have a netball court. We are lacking recreation for the young people,” added McDonald.