By Tony Becca, - On The Boundary 
THE WORLD Junior Championships are now history, Jamaica's athletes performed well - some creditably, some brilliantly, so too the organisers and the army of volunteers, and once again they deserve every bit of praise being showered on them.
So too the UDC. Although they were anxious moments leading up to the event - times when it looked like the stadium would not have been ready, even though there was some disappointment in the landscaping, the UDC delivered and the stadium was a source of pride to Jamaicans.
Perfection, it is said, is the figment of someone's imagination, but even if the stadium was not perfect, it was pretty near perfect, it provided a lovely setting for the championships and the spectators were impressed - so much so that they kept talking about it day after day.
One fan in particular - a woman with her young son and daughter - was all smiles as she remarked on Sunday, on the final day of the championships when the stadium was packed beyond its capacity, that she could not believe that the stadium, the grandstand, was in such condition that she was comfortable and would be back again.
According to the woman, she had not been to the stadium for a long time, she only turned up on Friday because her friends told her it was now nice and encouraged her to go, and she was so pleased with what she saw that she not only decided to go again but also to take her children along.
The woman, like so many others, had stayed away from the stadium because, according to her, it was dirty and uncomfortable, and like so many others, she will go again because it is now clean and comfortable.
Apart from the broken seats, one reason why it was dirty and uncomfortable was the presence of vendors inside the stadium - vendors who were a law unto themselves; apart from the lovely seats - numbered seats at that, one reason why it was clean and comfortable, the reason why spectators could move freely while getting refreshments, was the absence of vendors; and if spectators are to be attracted to the stadium in numbers from now on, the management has to ensure that it remains clean and comfortable.
The question, however, is how to do that - particularly in a country where everyone believes he or she has a right to do whatever he or she wants regardless of how it affects others.
One way, especially remembering that events at the stadium will not always be big enough to warrant the presence of franchise holders and that spectators will always need refreshments, is to limit the number of vendors, what they can sell, where they can sell, how they behave, and to be firm about it.
The best way, however, is to keep vendors out of the stadium - certainly out of the grandstand where their presence makes it uncomfortable for the patrons to move around, where they block the view of the patrons, and where the remains from the things they sell contribute to the general eyesore.
The stadium, thanks to the preparations for the World Junior Championships, is in lovely shape. There is, however, still some work to be done and hopefully the UDC will not take a rest but will complete it as soon as possible.
It is also clean and comfortable, it looks good, and apart from maintaining it, the management should ensure that it remains so.
