Adequate maintenance programme critical

 

It is not enough to just build a fancy new building as an adequate maintenance programme is a critical part which has been missing with many of the large sporting facilities in Barbados.
 
For the National Stadium, Kensington Oval and the Gymnasium it has been made obvious that two out of the three have passed the point of no return, while the other one hangs in the balance and will need immediate attention or suffer the same fate.
 
Barbados once boasted of having modern facilities and at one stage was the leader in the Caribbean in this regard. However, little to no maintenance has been done on the National Stadium and as a result the stands have been condemned.
 
There has been no attempt to increase the seating capacity of the stadium before either. The track was upgraded, the football field grass was upgraded but nothing was done to the stands. The lighting has also been lacking at the Stadium but a few years ago Emera was willing to take up the mantle of the upgrade.
 
Therefore, instead of paying a small amount to upgrade or even provide more seating over the existence of the Stadium, we are now looking for a large sum of money for a total renovation.
 
The Gymnasium which is now closed for major renovation was a marvel when it was first completed. Being  the first indoor multi-sport facility on the island many thought it was going to be a game changer in the evolution of Barbados sports.
 
However, then the sporting organisations found it harder and harder to book time in the gymnasium, and in what can only be termed as an effort to cut costs, turned out to be more detrimental to the facility. Multi-purpose tiles on the floor caused the wooden floor under it to rot, not using the air conditioning and only using some of the lights when domestic games were being played.
 
However, Sports no longer took priority in the Gymnasium, but topping the list were academic exams or cultural shows. The weight room in the gymnasium was no longer for athletes, but rented out to a private entity and then some of the lights stopped working altogether.
 
Fortunately, the financial burden as well the labour will not have to be undertaken by the Government of Barbados.
 
The final Sporting facility that is coming under scrutiny is Kensington Oval, known as the Mecca of Cricket in the Caribbean. However it may soon lose the title after it was not fit to host cricket.
 
Similar to the Stadium, there appears to be no attempt to expand the seating capacity of the facility with one of the biggest Party areas at any international cricket ground in the world. The lights seemingly were not checked before use and it was glaringly clear with the many dark spaces in the towers that a number of them needed to be changed.
 
This shows that rather than doing regular checks and maintenance, it is put off until the event and then not only it is a rushed job, but the thorough checks to avoid any major problem may not be done.
 
Kensington which was totally renovated and upgraded for the Cricket World Cup in 2007 still remains open, but there needs to be a change in the attitude to maintenance to ensure that it too does not fall from grace.
 
These are the big three in Barbados with the fourth being Bushy Park which is still in a phase upgrade.
 
The smaller facilities have also shown what a lack of maintenance will do and merely cutting the grass is not enough. (CG)

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