Berger Field Completed, Finally…

After several failed attempts, the Berger Field in Belize City has been upgraded and is now open to the public. A collaborative effort between Pickstock Area Representative Anthony Mahler, the Football Federation of Belize, and several other organizations, saw the five hundred thousand dollar facility to completion. News Five’s Paul Lopez was present at the inauguration ceremony on Sunday in Belize City. He filed the following report.

Sergio Chuc

Sergio Chuc, President, Football Federation of Belize

“I feel like this is the fourth of fifth time that I have come to inaugurate this facility. We have been trying to get it right for ten years and this time we did not get it right, we got it perfect. This is, I believe the name we gave it when the project first started is the field of dreams, where the young people from this area will dream about the possibilities that sports and football especially can offer them.”

Following numerous failed attempts at constructing a state-of-the-art football facility on the Berger Field, this Sunday the Briceño administration and the Football Federation of Belize celebrated the successful realization of a longstanding vision.

Anthony Mahler

Anthony Mahler, Area Representative, Pickstock

“I said under this government and under the leadership of the Honorable John Briceño and the partnerships we are creating, we will get it done. I always say that I am a man of my word and from day one I said, whatever it needs to get done we will do so.”

The facility was officially inaugurated during a brief ceremony that saw a number of government officials in attendance, including Prime Minister John Briceño. The project is the brainchild of Minister of Tourism Anthony Mahler, the Area Representative for Pickstock. It features a synthetic football pitch, concrete bleachers, two play grounds and a number of other amenities. Lindy Rogers, a longstanding resident of the area, spoke about the history of the field and its significance to residents.

Lindy Rogers

Lindy Rogers, Pickstock Resident

“1957, fifty-eight, when I born, Lindy Rogers and then George Price, deh make sure this start here by digging out Lake Independence and put a field out here that was swamp. From I four years old I the play out yah. So, I know the history and I know the love and those kids that went from here. The history of this I say, this come a long way from you all to make this work, this work, this work.”

Cordel Hyde, the Deputy Prime Minister and Area Representative for Lake Independence, grew up a stone’s throw away from the Berger Field. He recollected the positive impact sports had on his peers while growing up in the area.

Cordel Hyde

Cordel Hyde, Deputy Prime Minister

“When yo pass yah dah mih wah treat, because this dah mih wah legendary field. This dah mih hallowed grounds. This dah mih wah dirt field, but this produces some of Belize’s finest, finest. You could think about the great Cristobal Meighan,  Earl “Mandingo” Barnett, Jean “the Japanese Bomber” Gill, Enrique “Ricky” Gongora, Benedict Lopez play yah. Then something gone wrong in our neighborhood, the last few decades all we have known is mayhem and bloodshed and deaths. Ton load of the people we have grown up with dead, ton load of their kids got killed. Things get crazy. When crack cocaine come dah Belize in 1986, it ate us up, it destroyed us. Big role models turn lee bway. But with the help of Mister Mahler we the tek back we community, we the tek back we neighborhood, we the tek it back for the kids, tek it back for the kids.”

Prime Minister John Briceño kicked the opening shot on the newly constructed pitch, following the ceremony. PM Briceño was a semi-pro footballer in his time. He praised the project and committed to constructing to additional facilities in Belize City.

Prime Minister John Briceño

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I want to assure you that this facility, that the neighborhoods, that the people that live in this area, they have great pride for this and once they know that it belongs to them, they are going to take it over and ensure that it can be there for many years to come. So it brings a sense of pride in the community. If we could do one, you are talking about Lake Independence, by Complex and also in Port Loyola that is another area. So, we can triangle it in Southside. When you think about the benefits that we will get out of this, it repays itself many times over, crime would go down, and you wouldn’t have to spend so much on security with police and in the area and then we have more productive citizens, cause that is what you need, more people prepared to go to work.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.