–$33M in upgrades of Reg. 4 community grounds to be completed by November

HAVE you ever wondered where the next Carl Hooper or Shivnarine Chanderpaul will emerge from? Well, the government, through the National Sports Commission (NSC), has invested a whopping $60M in the rehabilitation of several community grounds across the country. The move is aimed at fostering sporting talent at the community level, and giving young people the motivation to excel at sports.

On Friday, October 4, a team from the NSC, led by Director of Sport Christopher Jones, visited community grounds at Enterprise, Vryheid’s Lust and Sparendaam on the East Coast Demerara, St. Pius, in West Ruimveldt, and St. Stephens in Charlestown.

According to Jones, the on-site visits were done to assess the ongoing construction at various grounds. These upgrades, he noted, are all part of the NSC’s Community Grounds Rehabilitation Project.

“There is construction presently ongoing on the East Bank of Demerara, and these are Agricola and at Grove,” he said. “And the overall cost to cover the area in Region 4 is approximately $33M. Some of the grounds are 90 per cent complete, and we are expecting full completion by the end of November.”

He said that several Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) community grounds were completed in 2018, and are awaiting the installation of electricity by the end of this year. “These community grounds slated for electricity are Central Mahaicony; Ithaca Basketball Court; Ithaca Primary School [and] Hopetown; Bath Settlement Community Centre.”

Also, on the NSC’s agenda are visits to several community clubs throughout Guyana to ensure that the facilities are properly outfitted with sport gear. In other developments, the Sport Director also disclosed that the Gymnasium and the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall are slated for their own rehabilitative works.

“Persons will soon see the construction of the front fence of the Gymnasium, and the reopening of the southern gate to the facility enabling free traffic flow. This is all part of a 3D plan that we submitted in 2016, which will utilise all the space at the Gymnasium. At the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, there will also be a facelift of the basketball court,” Jones explained.

The Community Ground Enhancement Project is aimed at ensuring sports facilities/grounds across the country’s ten administrative regions function effectively, and provide a platform for the development of athletes. (DPI)