MONTEGO BAY, St James — Montego Bay Multi Sports Development Limited, the umbrella company under which Premier League club Montego Bay United operates, has ambitious plans to invest nearly $700 million in the development of the Montego Bay Sports Complex into a multisport complex for swimming, track and field and racquet sports.

Montego Bay Multi Sports Development’s bid was the only one received at a meeting held at the St James Municipal Council just over an hour after the deadline for bids to the divestment/leasing of the complex based in Catherine Hall.

The deadline for the bid was at 12:00 noon on Monday, November 18.

“I feel very confident that Montego Bay Multi Sports Development Limited will be selected as the preferred bidder. I think we’ve put forth a very strong proposal to the municipal corporation that speaks specifically to what the bid required,” Johann Epstein, chairman of Montego Bay United and Montego Bay Multi Sports Development Limited, told the Jamaica Observer after the very brief meeting.

He said plans are to build out the adjoining lands around the football field and running track to include facilities that could host local and international sports and entertainment events.

Two envelopes were opened by Kimberly Webb, procurement officer at the St James Municipal Council. But one from Gargon Security Services, located on Union Street, close to the council offices, appeared to have been documents not linked to the bidding process.

It was, however, heard that the legal officer at the council would evaluate the contents of both envelopes and a decision should be known anywhere “between two weeks and six months”.

Webb, who unsealed both envelopes, said the bid from the Montego Bay Multi Sports Development Limited accompanied by the required bid security deposit was for $694,375,000 in development funds over three years. That amount includes $51,150,00 operational funds per year and a rental fee of $6,227,500 per year.

Epstein told the Observer that while the entity owns the football club, the development targets are not centred on one sport. “We are also focused on track and field; our focus is on aquatics; it is on tennis and other racquet sports,” he said. “It is on creating a space at the stadium where sports of all kinds, and entertainment, can be [staged].”

He noted, however, that the football field, running track and lighting system would be priorities if they are given the nod. He said next in line would be aquatics, tennis, futsal, and other sports.

Epstein said a number of investment partners will help to bring the dreams to fruition.

“There’s a bunch of partners and investors involved. We’ve chosen very specifically individuals that have experience in the different sporting fraternities that we want [as partners],” he said.

He reasoned that the proposed investment sum of nearly $700m is justified.

“It is a lot, but it is a sum that is necessary to raise the profile of sports in the western region. As we know, track and field stars, football stars, there are also swimming, aquatic stars that swim for the national team, that are all out of the west, that don’t have anywhere to train. So they naturally leave the west and go to Kingston. And we want to bring the west back to a point where we know this is the home of sports, and we want to bring it back to that level and be the leaders in sports once again,” Epstein said.