$30 Million Marion Jones Stadium to be finished end of 2013

The Marion Jones Sporting Complex has been under construction from the era of a P.U.P. government. But now in its second term, the U.D.P. government is hoping that it will be completed by the end of December 2013. The facility includes new bleachers, a FIFA standard field, a beach volleyball facility, and a four hundred meter Olympic class synthetic track amongst other amenities. Minister of State in the Ministry of Education and Sports, Herman Longsworth took the media on a walking tour of the facility which will cost thirty million dollars at the end of construction. 

Herman Longsworth, Minister of State with Responsibility for Sports

“We are, I would say, about fifty percent complete as it was originally designed. We have achieved, as I guess people will see a little bit later in the interview: we’ve achieved the four hundred meter running track; we’ve achieved the beach volleyball facility; we are, I would say, about seventy-five percent complete with the FIFA standard football field and we are in the process of constructing the actual grand stand facility, which is the main structure that is going to be built here, noh. The track is, as most people are aware and it has cost us some money, but it has cost us some money because we chose to elevate and seat the track on plies simply because of the unstable grounds that we have here and the weight of what we intended to put down. This track is here for a lifetime; for several lifetimes actually. The surfacing now is world class. In fact, the guys who came here, the consulting firm that came to do the inspection for certification, is a company named AECOM out of Britain. They told me that this surface is exactly the same surface as that which was used at the 2012 Olympics in London. So we have a world class surfacing on the track.”

Herman Longsworth

Jose Sanchez

“The public has regularly enjoyed free, unobstructed access to this particular field. Will that continue or will they be limited in any form?”

Herman Longsworth

“There can no longer be free, unobstructed used. There has to be managed used of the facility. The public will have use of the facility, but it has to be managed; we cannot afford to lose what we’ve invested this kind of money in. So we will have to put in place a proper management structure that will manage the use of the facility. But that does not say that the public will not have access to the facility, but they will be managed in the way they use it.”

Jose Sanchez

“Specifically the people who jog in the morning and in the evening.”

Herman Longsworth

“I didn’t mention, we have resurfaced the cycle track and you guys can look at that. We currently don’t have the funds in the budget, but I want to find the money to widen the cycle track so that we can create a jogging track and a cycle track. And when we have cycling meets, then we can use the full width of that; but then until we can do that, people will have access to the cycle track on a daily basis. They can use it, but like I said it will be managed; properly managed.”

Jules Vasquez, 7News

“Now in regards to the four hundred meter block, how much did it cost—the piling, surfacing; everything?

Herman Longsworth

“The track cost just over two million dollars. We want to have the facility completely ready for public use by the end of 2013. We are pretty much on track where that is concerned as we speak. We are hopeful that we can maintain it that way.”

Longsworth said that the government is expecting to receive ten million Belize dollars from Taiwan to finish the project.