No new track at National Stadium for start of 2024 athletic season

By Randy Bennett

There will be no new track at the National Stadium in time for next year’s athletics season.

This was revealed by Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Minister of Transport, Works and Maintenance, Dr William Duguid on Monday night, who said delays had caused the start date on the Chinese-funded multi-million dollar project to be pushed back until mid-2024.

Back in February during a press conference, Minister of Sports Charles Griffith announced that work on constructing a new stadium was slated to begin in 2023, with Phase One, the installation of a new track, completed by January 2024, in time for the new season.

However, speaking at the St Michael Speaks town hall meeting at Solidarity House, St Michael, last night, Mottley said an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was now being carried out at the Waterford, St Michael site.

She said some aspects of the project had been delayed, including a proposed 200-metre warmup track which subsequently had to be changed to 400-metres.

“As far as I know the environmental impact assessment is being done. We’re still a country governed by the rule of law and therefore, the EIA has to be done.

“As you know, when I went to China in June they formally committed to the stadium. We have indicated that we would like to do a part of it as well ourselves by putting in a second stand, but that is not going to stop the commencement of the work,” the Prime Minister said while pointing out that Government was not “sitting down twiddling our thumbs, but doing the essential work that is necessary for a project of that size to be undertaken.”

And while Dr Duguid said the new National Stadium would house 18 000 people when completed, thrice as much as it formerly accommodated, he said work was scheduled to commence around March, April, 2024.

“Obviously the National Stadium is a big infrastructural project for the country and it involves lots of things; the social side of things, the traffic, parking, how it will treat with the water that is available, all of those things go into making up an EIA.

“The National Sports Council has chosen somebody and I have told them that the EIA has to be done in four weeks, so that as soon as that is completed we can complete all of the other processes and we’re looking at a tentative start date of March-April next year,” Dr Duguid said.

“As the Prime Minister said, what we’re looking to do is Phase One, do the stands on one side, but Phase Two will put a mirror stand on the other side which will carry about 18 000 people in the stadium. Right now the stadium only carries 6 000, so when we’re finished we’re looking to triple the number of people that the stadium can carry for the people of Barbados.”

Mottley estimated the construction of a new National Stadium would take at least three years.

She gave the assurance though, that once completed the world class facility would serve Barbadians for the next 50 to 75 years.

“When the work starts it will probably take about three years to do and that’s why if you recall, the current stadium that we are now abandoning effectively has been around for 50 years…

“We hope it will start next year but I’m not fooling anybody. This is not a one-year project or even a two-year project. This is a significant project because we are building a major facility for the benefit of the country that is intended to last for the next 50-75 years,” Mottley said.

The Prime Minister also disclosed that the University of the West Indies (UWI) had asked for help in maintaining the track at the Usain Bolt Complex in order to ensure the country still had access to the facilities. 

randybennett@barbadostoday.bb