ALTHOUGH Sabina Park has experienced a gradual rise in staging international matches over the past two years, Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) President Dr Donovan Bennett says the venue is open to hosting additional sporting and entertainment events so as to generate more revenue.

Jamaican fans were treated to a rare multiple-format series in July as the West Indies hosted Australia in one Test and two Twenty20 (T20) Internationals in Kingston. It was the third time in the space of 14 months that the Caribbean side played at Sabina Park after a three-match T20 series against South Africa in May 2024 and a Test match against Bangladesh in November 2024.

However, while the venue awaits confirmation of future international series, football is set to return on Thursday when Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions Cavalier FC host Juventus of Haiti in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup. JPL matches, schoolboy football, and high-profile entertainment events are also to be held at the stadium for the rest of the year.

Over the last decade Sabina Park resorted to hosting multiple sporting and entertainment events to help cover the heavy costs of operating and maintaining the stadium.

Bennett says the JCA and co-owners Kingston Cricket Club (KCC) aren’t in a position to refuse events, due to their need for resources.

“What we have there is a US$40-million stadium which, for the most part, except for a few events here and there, doesn’t make any money,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“As a matter of fact, a lot of money that should be invested in cricket, a part of it has to be spent on the maintenance of the park, and we want to stop that.”

Bennett says both organisations must improve their strategies in order to attain significant profitability at Sabina Park.

“I’m supposed to have discussions with Kingston Cricket Club (KCC) because they are our partners, our neighbours; we both own the facility so we have to work together. So, I’m going to have discussions with them to see what we can do on another level to bring in significant and regular income into the park,” he said.

“I have some ideas [but] I can’t’ share them until we have a discussion with KCC and we have a buy-in from both sides. But we have to move forward and get that park into a state where we don’t have to go begging money to maintain it. We want it to generate enough income to maintain itself.”

However, Bennett has already highlighted one major solution as they intend to take advantage of events looking for venues when the National Stadium undergoes its upgrade, starting in 2026.

“We have no option but to be a part of whatever happens or what should have happened at the stadium,” he said. “As a responsible sporting body, if there’s no cricket being played we’ll have to make our park available to other sporting bodies who want to use it.”

An increase in events will likely lead to overuse of the field but Bennett says they will enhance their maintenance efforts to address this.

“My only concern is whether we can upkeep the field to the level that we saw and the amount of activity that will take place there,” he said. “[But] it means that we have to water more, fertilise more, we have to be more careful and spend more time — this is what it boils down to. We’re just going to have to step up to the plate.”

A section of the crowd in the North Stand at Sabina Park during the first T20 international between West Indies and Australia on July 20, 2025.

Ground staff cut the grass at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, on July 9, 2025. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Kimoni Bailey (left) of Mount Pleasant controls the ball under pressure from Cavalier’s Christopher Ainsworth during the Jamaica Premier League final match at Sabina Park on June 11, 2023. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

BENNETT… a lot of money that should be invested in cricket, a part of it has to be spent on the maintenance of the park, and we want to stop that