SVG not ready for a national stadium – NSC manager

With entrenched practices and current mindset towards the administration of sporting facilities here, manager of the National Sports Council (NSC) Jomadean May holds the position that St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is not ready for a national stadium.

“We are saying we want a stadium, we are saying we need a stadium. I do agree that we want a stadium; I do agree we need a stadium, but unfortunately we are not ready for a stadium, not with this thinking,” May told SEARCHLIGHT recently.

The NSC manager said his opinion has been strengthened following the well-publicized stand-off between the NSC and the Barrouallie Sports Association (BSA), occasioned by the imposition by the NSC of a user fee for the use of the Keartons Playing Field for the duration of the 2016 Bank of St Vincent and the Grenadines Barrouallie Football League.{{more}}

May noted that when the planning process of any competition is taking place, the first thing administrators must secure is the venue for hosting. “When someone is having an event at any other facility that is not a sporting facility, the cost of the facility is the first cost that is covered,” May stated.

He said administrators should at all times factor in such costs and should not be reluctant to contribute to the facility. “This is why the Council has such financial constraints that make it difficult to maintain these facilities….I often asked, if it is so difficult to maintain, when it is we would be able to enhance,” May reasoned.

Regarding the cost to maintain the present sporting facilities compared with a national stadium, May questioned, “If we don’t want to pay now, would we be willing to pay for the use of a national stadium facility, which certainly carries a higher operational costs?

“We talk about sport development, but I don’t think we are ready for sport development, not with this thinking… Let’s stop make sport of sports and start to sit down and discuss how best we can collaborate for the holistic development of sports in this country… We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our children, we owe it to the country,” the NSC manager concluded.(RT)