One of the main reasons given by the Government for upgrading the National Stadium in Kingston is to allow Jamaica to host more international sporting events, particularly track and field. That goal could soon be achieved, as World Athletics President Sebastian Coe says the island may host major track and field events, including the World Under-20 Championships, once the redevelopment is completed.

During the final stop of Coe’s four-day visit to Jamaica on Wednesday at the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) headquarters in Kingston, Sports Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange gave an update on plans to upgrade the 64-year-old stadium.

The construction phase, which was previously announced by Grange to have begun this year, will now take place in July 2027. The project, estimated to cost over $16 billion, will expand the stadium’s seating capacity from 28,500 to nearly 40,000 seats. There will also be an introduction and modernisation of many facilities including the running track.

Coe says he’s encouraged by the decision to redevelop the stadium and believes it will have a positive impact on both the sport and the country.

“I’m delighted that it’s now moving ahead with pace and with purpose, and also pleased that it’s going through those phases that it needs to do in order to come to fruition,” he said.

“I know from my experiences in London [and] my experiences in World Athletics that having venues that are fit for purpose and allow more people to be involved in sport at the highest level and through training is also a pretty smart economic model, as well, in generating those revenues that are really important for the livelihood and well-being of people in Jamaica.”

Following the completion of the stadium’s upgrade, Jamaica’s first confirmed assignment will be the hosting of games during the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

However, Coe has hinted that talks have begun about Jamaica returning as a host of international athletics events for the first time since the World Junior Championships 24 years ago.

“It does mean that it would give you the opportunity to bid for our World Athletics Series events and already, we had a discussion about the potential for an Under-20 championships in years to come,” he said.

“It was in 2002, of course that your favourite son [Usain Bolt] made his mark with that world record and that win in this city. So, of course, it’s really important and if you have facilities, you have warm-up tracks, you have the infrastructure around the stadium that allows you to bid successfully for those events, that will only be warmly received by World Athletics as we would receive those invitations from anywhere in the world that wants to invest in their sport, we will always encourage them.”

The host for the 2030 World Under-20 championships could be announced by the World Athletics council before the end of the year, though the 2032 games may be a more realistic option. The
Jamaica Observer understands that the World Athletics Relays is also a possibility for Jamaica, given itoperates at a lower scale compared to full fledged competitions.

Last year, Grange said the stadium’s upgrade would be completed by 2029 but would not confirm if that’s still the target.

“I wouldn’t want to announce an end date at this time. Yes, we are conscious that we have to be finished by a particular time and we do have a projected time frame to be ready,” she said.

“However, by upgrading Stadium East, we’ll be able to start the construction, we’re hoping, much earlier because we will be having a lot of the activities that we would have in the National Stadium at Stadium East. But we would want to address that at a later date to be more specific.”

Grange, though, says the stadium’s redevelopment will see the country earning billions of dollars.

“Revenues are expected to go by about 169 per cent, mainly due to expanded commercial capacity and increased event hosting,” she said.

“Operating costs will rise by around 83 per cent but overall government subvention to IPL (Independence Park Limited) will drop by 70 per cent. During the construction period, the project is projected to generate 70 billion in economic output and contribute 34 billion to GDP and create approximately 14,900 jobs.”

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (left) talks to Jamaica’s Sports Minister Olivia “Basby” Grange during a Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) press conference at the JAAA headquarters in St Andrew on Wednesday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

From left: Oblique Seville, Kishane Thompson, Kadrian Goldson and Bryan Levell compete in the men’s 100m final during the National Athletics Senior Championships at the National Stadium on Friday, June 27, 2025. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

ArtistIc rendering of the redesigned National Stadium in Jamaica