MBU owners still in for a wait

WHILE MONTEGO Bay Multi-Sports Development Limited (MBMSDL) is the lone bidder to take charge of the Montego Bay Sports Complex, it will have to wait several months for that to come to fruition.

During the announcement of the bidder at the St James Municipal Council (STJMC) yesterday, director of MBMSDL, Yoni Epstein, told The Gleaner that they are confident they are the right custodians for the job.

“The focus of the group is on track and field, football, aquatics and racket sports. The first thing we are going to do is to upgrade the pitch to international standards, we are going to upgrade the lights to get us to levels where the stadium will be approved for Concacaf matches and the resurfacing of the track and field track. The intent from an aquatics perspective would be to build and maintain an Olympic-size swimming pool at the stadium.”

Continuing, he said: “We have seen where a lot of world champions have been born out of the west. Owing to the lack of facilities, they have transcended to Kingston, so we are starting the renaissance of top-class sports in the west. It is a lot of work, responsibility, a lot to take on for all of us who are affiliated with the project. We are the ones that will make the city and western Jamaica proud.”

The bid opened in September and was officially closed at noon yesterday.

As part of the bid, the company will spend $694,375,000 to develop the stadium, which has a capacity of 7,000, over the next three years.

Operational funding will amount to $51,150,000 per year. Rent will be paid in the form of one per cent of annual revenue generated from ticket sales and fees.

Describing the process as transparent, Epstein said that the entity fulfilled all the requirements of the municipality.

“We will wait and see what is the next process and how long before we can sign the lease. It is a start and a journey of us bringing the sporting fraternities back to their leadership role here in the west. As a group, we are proud of the offer we put forward,” Epstein stated.

Mayor of Montego Bay Richard Vernon said: “The Montego Bay Multi-Sports Development Limited met all the criteria and it has now been sent to review at the evaluation committee. Following that, we will get the update and final decision pertaining to that before we send it off to the ministry for final approval. We still have the Montego Bay Sports Complex at this point in time until we have completed the process in its entirety, then we will hand over all responsibilities to the successful bidder.”

Track deteriorated

The Montego Bay Sports Complex, which was developed at a cost of US$14.9 million, was opened in June 2010.

The track has deteriorated tremendously over the past few years, and was taken out of service over fear that continued use could result in athletes suffering serious injuries.

The last time the Milo Western Relays was held at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, for instance, was in February 2018. Since then, all major track events have had to be shifted to venues as far away as St Catherine.

The stadium was closed for five months last year to allow for $7 million worth of repair work to be done. Since its reopening in January, it hosts all Montego Bay United’s Jamaica Premier League home games and has been used for the opening of the ISSA schoolboy competitions.

The seating was also refurbished and minor repairs were done to increase water pressure at the venue in January.

MBMSDL is the entity that owns the Montego Bay United Football Club.