Pan Trinbago must lose on North Park

Pan Trinbago President Beverly Ramsey-Moore yesterday said the decision to abolish the North Stand, Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, and replace it with the North Park was taken long before she was made a member of the National Carnival Commission (NCC).

Addressing a cheque distribution ceremony for steelband finalists in this year’s Panorama competition, Ramsey-Moore said even though she was upset about the move, she was not opposed to change.

“Even though I sit at meetings, I battle,” she said. “The decision has already been made and there is nothing that I can do as one member on the commission to change that decision. But what I can do is to ensure that whatever the space is that was used for the North Stand has the capacity to hold the amount that the North Stand holds.”

NCC chairman Winston Gypsy Peters announced last week that the North Stand was to be abolished and replaced by the North Park.

He said the North Stand was not commercially-viable and needed to be converted into a revenue-generating entity.

Peters claimed promoters have already expressed an interest in hoisting events in the space.

Ramsey-Moore said the North Stand accommodated 7,000 to 8,000 people.

“But what was presented to replace that can only hold 1,500 and, as such, I would have made a point at our last executive meeting to the commissioners to ensure that whatever replaces the North Stand must be able to hold that amount of persons so as to ensure that Pan Trinbago does not lose any revenue.”

She added: “And in the event that that it should happen, then buy out the North Stand. We must not lose.”

Ramsey-Moore said the NCC’s infrastructure committee will look at it and report to the board’s next meeting on Thursday “so that a compromise can be struck somewhere.”

Ramsey-Moore argued that the North Stand was “life” to Panorama.

“So, those decision-makers that would have gone ahead to plan for pan are wrong.”

She told members of the pan fraternity that they should not lose hope.

“Nothing is cast in concrete and I must say we are looking at it from the commissioners’ stand point.”