HALL
Howard Walker, Staff Reporter
AFTER experienceing problems to attract clients at the outset, Michael Hall says Independence Park Limited (IPL) is slowly becoming a viable entity.
Hall, manager of the company formed by the government to maintain, promote and market all facilities at the Stadium complex, said:
"Things are looking up in respect of revenue. We have improved significantly, but not necessarily in terms of resources," he added quickly.
Up to October last year, the Stadium complex had rattled up losses in excess of $6 million as its main clients sporting agencies shied away from using the facility due to the higher rental costs that came after a major upgrade.
At one point no sporting organisation was renting the facility which was then dubbed as a 'white elephant', but Hall says that situation has changed.
"We are making more revenue than last year but we are not making a profit".
He says they will be looking to sustain a reasonable amount of bookings for the complex for the remainder of the year.
"There are a lot of events slated for later in the year of varying types, but we really need to continue to push," he pointed out.
Such events include sporting and entertainment activities, expos and conferences.
The cost of using the National Stadium is $750,000 per day; the National Arena and the newly built National Indoor Sports Centre are $300,000 each per day, plus light and power which is $18,000 per hour.
HIGH MAINTENANCE COST
According to Hall, the high cost of rental is due to the high cost of maintenance.
"The maintenance of the stadium complex is extremely expensive with a monthly bill of over $2 million. The water bill is usually close to $700,000, security is over $900,000 and electricity before even turning on a light bulb is over $400,000."
The former chairman of the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) admitted also that Jamaica's success in getting over the first hurdle of the World Cup campaign, against Haiti, augurs well for their projections.
"Now I want them to get over the second," he added.
In an earlier interview with The Gleaner, Hall had said that only the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) could afford the high cost of rental and only for a few matches.
The Inter-Secondary School Association (ISSA) promoters of Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships said they understood the difficulty and are willing to work with the fees being asked to host events.
The Jamaica Netball Association said they would try to market netball in such a way to cover the cost.
Other sporting associations like the Jamaica Table Tennis Association had to stage the Caribbean Championships at the University of Technology because it could not afford the National Indoor Sports Centre.
