Delroy Chuck JAMAICA HAS not yet decided whether it will have one or two venues for the World Cup Cricket Series in 2007. I think we are wasting precious time, which could be better used to get ourselves better prepared and ready. I really don't understand what the debate is all about or why there should even be a debate. Sabina Park has served the cricket community well and will probably do so for many decades to come. The atmosphere, the air of excitement, at Sabina Park when a Test match is played cannot be easily replicated elsewhere.
If the present government wants to build a stadium in Trelawny then proceed but don't use the pretext of building it for the cricket series in 2007. I have no doubt the western region needs a stadium, in fact so does the southern region, but can Jamaica, and the government in particular, afford to build and maintain another stadium, at this time. How often have we used the Auditorium built for the World Netball Competition? It stands as a monument to waste, inept planning and lack of foresight. Is it suitable for indoor basketball, table tennis or any other indoor games? Well, if we do decide to build a stadium in Trelawny, the important question to answer is can we recover the costs of building, and operation, in ten or twenty years?
SPECTATOR STANDS
Sabina Park has history. It will remain our primary cricket venue and the only need, at this time, is to upgrade and improve the facilities. I strongly believe the additional funds to build another stadium could be spent more beneficially on Sabina Park and surrounding areas. The ground itself is quite suitable even though more spectator stands are needed and can easily be added. However, Sabina Park's main shortcomings are the urban decay and disintegration around, the lack of parking facilities and, probably, the inability of Kingston to accommodate the thousands who will come for the World Cup.
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY
If we were really thinking and possessed of some vision then we could easily foresee that the Cricket World Cup affords the golden opportunity to start a programme of urban renewal, starting within a mile radius around Sabina Park. How many of us have ever seen the squalor, poverty and urban disintegration that have overtaken most of Kingston and lower St. Andrew? Behind the government ministries on Heroes Circle and South Camp Road, the whole area begs for renewal, rebuilding and redevelopment. Imagine if we could decide on a rectangular corridor stretching from South Camp Road to Heroes Circle to rebuild a series of multi-storey buildings to, first, accommodate the thousands of visitors who will attend the 2007 cricket matches and, second, to sell these apartments or townhouses, which would go a far way to ease our housing shortage.
Naturally, the immediate reaction is to find reasons why it cannot be done, but it should be done. I would begin by finding an area contiguous to Sabina Park, which should be used for a multi-storey car park that would ease the congestion that occurs whenever there is a Test match. Then, we must understand that for any big occasion such as the Olympics or other big sporting events, the government has to play a central role to provide accommodation for participants and visitors. We must accept that we need to find accommodation for 3,000 or more visitors.
My argument is that we should build houses for 2 - 3,000 Jamaicans, which would initially be used to accommodate these visitors. My suggestion is nothing new. The question is why are we not thinking or planning this development? I have seen similar developments in Sydney, Australia, and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where I attended the Olympic and Pan American Games. In fact, Athens is doing the same thing in preparation for the Summer Olympics. For example, in Dominican Republic, for the Pan American Games last year, the government built a massive village for the accommodation of over 1,000 athletes, consisting mainly of apartment buildings, air-conditioned and well appointed, which were all sold to residents but on the condition that they would first be used during the Games. It is a similar idea that I would like our planners to pursue. And, it need not cost the government any money, if a joint venture could be found with private developers.
PRIVATE DEVELOPORS
What would be required is for the planners to decide on a twenty to thirty acres corridor bordering South Camp Road, or Vineyard Town, or some other area nearby, which would be purchased from the existing residents/owners or compulsorily acquired and then resold to private developers for development of this Cricket Village/New Middle Income Housing Development. Financing could be provided by pre-selling all the units or from the building societies, which would be happy, I believe, to participate in such a development. The real challenge is whether we have the guts, determination and vision to start a process of urban renewal.
If we fail to seize the moment now then when will we ever? Just think what a housing development within a mile of Sabina Park would do for the whole area. It would be a catalyst to drive similar small-scale redevelopments that could rejuvenate the whole of South East St. Andrew. With the start of the Test match tomorrow between England and the West Indies, I hope we will start to think of how best to put on a great show for the 2007 Cricket World Cup at Sabina Park. And, I urge, let us use the moment to start thinking, planning and, ultimately, rebuilding the city of Kingston and surrounding areas. Kingston can once again become a tourist destination, a thriving business district, a commercial hub in the Western Hemisphere, and a kind and friendly place, if only we put our minds to let it happen.
Delroy Chuck is an attorney-at-law and Opposition Member of Parliament. He can be contacted by e-mail at Delchuck@Hotmail.Com.
