THE EDITOR, Sir:
WHAT HAS the World Junior Games done for us? Are we feeling the positive effects of the World Junior Games? Well, certainly we are not benefiting from the fantastic effort of Dr. Vin Lawrence in creating a very acceptable stadium for Jamaicans and the world to enjoy. How can we be assured as Jamaicans that we have benefited from the remarkable success of the World Junior Games when the asking price for the stadium is so high?
It is reported that the stadium is being rented for a day for a whopping $750,000. Is this not too much to claim for most sporting undertakings to be held at this venue? Unfortunately, Primary Champs, Premier League football and other notable sporting events would have to call it not just a day, but a lifetime. These exorbitant fees will only facilitate events such as national football matches and Boys and Girls Championships. With these plans of action in place, it will only stifle the raw, hidden talents in our youngsters.
To rent anywhere on the stadium compound for a day like swimming, basketball, or netball one will have to garner a nail-biting $10,000. Unfortunately, with this in place sport will take a retrograde step in the near future. The fee to enter the stadium will also increase on a timely basis. I think someone with sense should do a feasibility study to arrive at a viable solution to resolve the decline of a dying legacy.
Not all the days at super champs is going to be a full day; some of the events might have to be abandoned or some might have to be relocated to another venue like G.C. Foster College or Sabina Park.
The vision of Norman Washington Manley in building a national stadium to accommodate the efforts of our athletes is a dying virtue. We need not isolate the fact that the stadium is a primary part of our social well-being, speaking from a sporting perspective. If poor people are unable to use the stadium it will not benefit us as a people. It would have been better if the stadium had stayed in a dilapidated state; our youngsters would certainly have more access to this facility.
I am, etc.,
PARIS TAYLOR
Greater Portmore
St. Catherine
