Smith promises pristine Dwight Yorke stadium again

KINNESHA GOERGE

Minister of Sport Darryl Smith has given the assurance that work towards the complete overhaul of the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago, will begin over the next 2-4 months.

The Minister paid a visit to the stadium yesterday, accompanied by Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe, Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Secretary of Sport and Youth Affairs Jomo Pitt and former national footballer Dwight Yorke.

Speaking with reporters prior to a tour of the facility, Smith said, “After 15 years, we have put all our ducks in a line and we are starting work at the Dwight Yorke Stadium to bring it back up to the level that it has to be for a world class facility for the athletes to use.”

Smith said there will be two phases to the improvement works to the stadium.

“We’re working very closely with all parties involved to get it up and running within the next few months in the phase one, and in phase two to do an overall project where we can have it back to the where it was when it was built. The first phase is four months, we have electrical, plumbing, roof, cleaning and so on, and the second phase would be with the handrails and the steel structure and so on. So, we are hoping within the next few months you should have use of the facilities where the athletes could be comfortable and safe and then we would work around it and get the other things done,” the Minister said.

Questioned why the stadium was allowed to reach this state of deterioration, Smith cast blame elsewhere. “You would have to ask the other Governments. What you have to be asking yourself and be happy is that it is been done finally, and for the first time, we are going to have a maintenance policy which will ensure that this doesn’t happen again. The Dwight Yorke Stadium falls under the Ministry of Sport and with the local Government and Self Government that we are looking at for Tobago, when this is done, it would be something that we would be definitely talking to the Cabinet and the THA to have the official handing over of the facility to THA,” he added.

The Sports Minister said refurbishment is not restricted to Tobago and they are looking at improving other stadia throughout the country.

“It is not just Dwight Yorke (Stadium). We are starting with Dwight Yorke, but we are going to be looking at the Manny Ramjohn, the Larry Gomes Stadium and the Ato Boldon Stadium as well, so you would see those being done finally after 15 years. All those stadia were built for the (FIFA U-17) Youth World Cup in 2001 and absolutely no work was done to maintain and upgrade them. The Dwight Yorke in particular needs a lot of work because of the sea blast. The budget was read in October and it was passed in October and we put five million dollars to start work at that stadium. That same week we had a team from UDECOTT on the ground with the THA,” he said.

Meanwhile, THA Secretary of Sport and Youth Affairs, Jomo Pitt, said that in the interim, arrangements have been made to get the fields at Shaw Park and Speyside available for athletes.

“This focus on having a Mondo track as the only method of training has to be discarded. Yes, it helps, but it isn’t the end all and be all. We’ve made Shaw Park and we’ve made Speyside, as a matter of fact we have installed or constructed a long jump pit on a grass track, which is from what I have been told, nowhere in the Caribbean has that A-standard long jump pit. We’ve done that in Speyside and we are looking to do that in Shaw Park,” Pitt said.