Jagdeo’s error is being repeated by Ali

Mar 04, 2023 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – The PPPC has learnt nothing from its experience in building and managing the National Stadium at Providence. And it is now on course to repeat the same errors in Berbice where, yesterday, there was a ceremony to announce the construction of a multi-purpose stadium at Palmyra.

The National Stadium at Providence was built in preparation for World Cup Cricket. Some persons were critical of the investment claiming it would increase the country’s debt. But such a stadium had to be constructed if Guyana was to ever again host international cricket matches. All across the Caribbean, similar stadiums have been built and Guyana cannot expect to  host international matches at Bourda or at Albion, both of which do not meet the standards for hosting international cricket and which do not have the space to be brought up to such standards.

A new stadium had to be built. The misfortune was that this new stadium was built under the Bharrat Jagdeo government. When the World Cup 2007 matches were hosted in Guyana, the country was shamed. The parking lot of the stadium was unpaved and consisted of red dirt. Instead of installing and electronic scoreboard, the government installed an unsightly and non-modern wooden scoreboard. The rest of the Caribbean islands that hosted matches had electronic score boards.

Later, the parking lot was reduced in size because a large chuck of the land was given out. As such, today when there are events at the National Stadium, parking is problem. The VIPs, however, are allowed to park in the square in front of the stands of the stadium, an area which should be kept clear since it caters for the safe inflow and outflow of patrons. But the leaders of the PPP/C do not seem to understand the purpose of that area which lead into the stadium.

Despite the problems with crowd management and the scoreboard, the National Stadium, built by Indian engineers, had a world class outfield. It was considered as one of the fastest draining arenas in the Caribbean.

Not anymore! The stadium has lost much of its fast-drying capacity. And the reason for this is that it is being used for all manner of events since it was designated as a multi-purpose stadium.

A few years ago, the cricket pitch had to be dug up since during the hosting of some events at the facility sand got onto the playing surface. The normally flat and placid pitch became treacherous with low bounce. As a consequence, the stadium became known for low par-scores during cricket matches.

But cricket was not the only sport which was played at the National Stadium. As a multi-purpose facility, football and athletic events were also hosted at the same venue. The result was that a few years ago, the then Guyana Cricket Board had to complain about the damage done to the outfield as a result of the hosting of a football match on a soggy outfield.

The authorities tried to deny that there was any damage. But visual evidence was produced which showed the damage done to the outfield.

This experience should have forewarned the authorities about the dangers of hosting multiple events at the National Stadium, and by extension building multipurpose stadiums.

Multipurpose stadiums do have their benefits. They allow for a reduction of costs by having one facility which can hold many types of events. But this comes at a price as we have seen with the damage done to the pitch and outfield at Providence. Fans do not have to worry about where to find different stadiums when attending different sporting events.

There is no reason why there should not be separate football, cricket and track and field stadiums in each county. A few years ago, the sod was turned for a football stadium. The site chosen was not the best but the fact is that even the then government recognized the need for separate stadiums for different sporting disciplines.

Stadiums cannot always be built to accommodate multi-sports. A football field does not always sit well on a cricket field and if this same venue is also used as an athletic and cycling track, the problem becomes more obvious. It is difficult to design a stadium to host cricket, football and track and field.

But do not tell that to the PPP/C. They have gone again with this useless idea of building a multi-purpose stadium, and this time it will be located at Palmyra where the amount of sand and earth which will have to be brought, it will make it about twice as costlier than if it was built more up the coast on reef-like soil. The cost benefit of having a multi-purpose stadium will be offset by locating it at Palmyra.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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• Bharrat Jagdeo, Bourda, National Stadium, Peeping Tom, PPPC, Providence

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