Desmond Leaky ... As long as the Trelawny stadium remains under the current arrangement with Independence Park, it will never move from where it is. - File

WESTERN BUREAU:

STAKEHOLDERS IN Trelawny are not pleased with the management structure in place for the US$30 million Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium, near Falmouth, and are of the view that the facility will not realise its full economic potential unless the existing arrangement is changed. Speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum in Trelawny last week, renowned cricket administrator and former Member of Parliament for North Trelawny Desmond Leaky said having Independence Park Limited in charge was a bad idea.

Independence Park is the body that also manages the National Stadium in St Andrew.

Management remains

"As long as the Trelawny stadium remains under the current arrangement with Independence Park, it will never move from where it is," said Leaky. "It needs its own management and its own promotion team to be viable - that was the original concept."

According to Leaky, Independence Park has not promoted one event in its history and has basically only been facilitating the staging of football and other sporting events that are being staged by other entities.

Recommendations

"When I heard about the plan to have Independence Park manage the stadium (Trelawny), I wrote against and spoke out against it," said Leaky. "I thought it was a bad idea at the time and I still believe it is."

Dr Patrick Harris, the current Member of Parliament for North Trelawny, fully endorsed Leaky's sentiments and said he too has been speaking out against the current arrangement.

"I have made recommendations to the relevant authorities about the stadium having its own management in place to properly promote the facility and come up with events," said Harris. "Unfortunately, my advice has not been taken.

Harris said persons, both local and overseas, have been expressing a desire to be part of the management of the stadium with a view of helping to bring major events there. "To my knowledge, there are many people with local and international connections, who have been expressing interest to be partners in staging events at the stadium," said Harris. "What the stadium need is its own management to do its own promotions. That is the only way the stadium will become viable."

Phillip Service, the president of the Trelawny Cricket Association, whose association had to wage extensive negotiations with Independence Park, before it was allowed to use the stadium for the parish's domestic cricket, would also like to see the management structure reviewed.

Own monitoring

"The stadium needs its own management to ensure proper maintenance and upkeep so that it does not become run down over time," said Service. "You also need to have arrangements in place to promote, market and stage events so that the stadium will be able to sustain itself."

The stadium, which hosted the glamorous opening ceremony for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup and recently staged games in the 2008 Digicel Caribbean Championships football tournament, has been hailed as one of the finest sporting facilities in the Caribbean.