Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts has expressed shock at the extent of damage to the playing surface at the Montego Bay Sports Complex.

He says he doubts that Montego Bay United (MBU) will be able to play home games there when the Jamaica Premier League resumes on December 7.

Ricketts, who toured the stadium with FIFA representative Malaika Church on Wednesday, told the
Jamaica Observer, “I never thought it was that bad,” saying the field was covered by “inches of mud” from days of heavy rainfall that accompanied Hurricane Melissa last month.

The facility, which abuts the community of Catherine Hall, St James, was flooded during the Category 5 hurricane that caused the Barnett and Pye rivers to overflow and have water marks of up to five feet in some areas.

MBU Chairman Yoni Epstein, who was also a part of the inspection, says it was unlikely they would be able to play football there “for the next several months, minimum”, and puts the cost of fixing the damage at “around $300 million”.

Epstein says the local based members of the team had been relocated to Kingston and played to a 2-2 draw with Portmore United in a friendly on Wednesday. But he says the board was due to meet yesterday where they would “iron out the details of where we would be playing home games” adding, “we will be playing in Montego Bay”.

Epstein says work started with about 300m of the running track cleared of the thick clay soil that washed up into the facility.

“The next step is to get it off the pitch, which will be a delicate operation,” he said. “This is clay, not just ordinary mud, and it is stuck to the turf and we don’t want to be ripping the grass off the surface or damage the underground sprinkler system.”

Epstein says the entire electrical system may need to be replaced although a thorough examination has not yet been done, but he says the floodlights have been damaged.

“Some of the bulbs have been blown off the system and others were out of their original alignment,” he said.

Ricketts said they were “trying to fast-track repairs”, pointing out that because the facility is not owned by the JFF or MBU, FIFA suggested they seek a memorandum of understanding with the St James Municipal Council and try to get the facility back on track as soon as possible.

Ricketts said they conducted a “detailed inspection” at the complex and also found there to be serious damage to the structure.

Jamaica Football Federation President Michael Ricketts (Photo: Observer file)

Montego Bay United Chairman Yoni Epstein.