Source: www.trinidadexpress.com
By Kwame Laurence kwame.laurence@trinidadexpress.com
A new Mondo track is being laid at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, in Port of Spain. And the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago (sportt) is putting things in place to ensure the longevity of both the track and the football field.
This assurance was given by Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Anil Roberts, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, yesterday, during the launch of the June 25-26 National Senior/Open Track and Field Championships.
"The Sport Company is in the process of procuring the best covering. The Hasely Crawford Stadium, as all stadia, will be utilised—in conjunction with all sporting activities—for cultural events. However, there are strict guidelines that have been put down for all people wanting to utilise any of the facilities—with major caution fees, major timelines. If you have an event you will only be allowed a day before and a day after to get in and out."
Minister Roberts said the covering that will be used during shows "will ensure there'll be absolutely no damage to the track".
"We must understand that these facilities take a lot of money to be maintained, and while we want to allow all our sporting people and our track athletes to utilise the facilities for free, there is no free lunch, so somebody has to pay the bill. The fusion of culture and sport--they will pay the bill, but we will manage and maintain the facility, so that we do not damage it. That's the synergy we are trying to put in place.
"This track," Roberts continued, "is going to be one of the best in the world, and we will not want it damaged in any form or fashion, whether by concerts, culture, religious festivals or the track athletes themselves. They will have to use the correct shoes. The coaches will be held responsible on those training days. People will be penalised very heavily. This track is supposed to last us ten years. We do not want to see in 2015 that we have to rip up and put down another track.
"We are also going to do the Ato Boldon (Stadium) and the Larry Gomes (Stadium) within the next six to eight months, so the same policies of the Hasely Crawford Stadium will apply to those other tracks. We must take care of what we invest in."
The Minister assured priority will be given to sports events at the Crawford Stadium.
"The NAAA (National Association of Athletics Administrations) are very well advanced with their calendar of events, so those dates have already been blocked off. The problem arises with certain football organisations that are not as disciplined as the NAAA and want to feel they could come two weeks before and they want a match. It will not work like that. They have to be efficient enough to move from good to great.
"To ensure that your sporting event gets the priority, send in your calendar of events to the Sport Company. Those dates will be blocked off, and then cultural events will fill in the gap.
"We must understand," Roberts continued, "that to rent the Stadium brings in 150 to $350,000 on one event. It takes approximately $1.9 million a month to maintain the five stadia in Trinidad and Tobago.
"We cannot just be a Caroni (1975) Limited, and just keep sucking money. We would like to generate some revenue, so I don't have to harass the Minister of Finance every minute for more and more. The cultural events will be charged heavily because it's a fantastic facility. We'll cover the track and the field properly, and the revenue will go towards the upkeep and maintenance."
The laying of the new Mondo track at the Crawford Stadium is expected to be completed by June 17.