National Arena Being Refurbished

Refurbishing work valued at some $60 million is under way at the National Arena in Kingston.

The Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) have allocated $30 million each towards the project.

General Manager of Independence Park Limited, Major Desmon Brown, told JIS News that $23 million has been spent, so far, to rehabilitate and repaint the building.

“We did some work on the ceiling and we did minimal work on the bathrooms,” he said, noting that work was completed in time for the staging of the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) and the Jamaica Exporters’ Association (JEA) exposition held at the Arena in April this year.

Additionally, he said the air-condition systems will be upgraded and repairs carried out on the floor and rollaway seats.  The walls and countertops of the bathrooms will be replaced.

In preparation for any water shortage at the facility, Major Brown said a decision was taken to connect the toilet tanks to a well on the premises. However, he said that the washbasins will remain connected to the National Water Commission (NWC) water-supply system.

The National Arena, built in 1966 to host the weightlifting and wrestling events of the 1966 Commonwealth Games, is used for a wide range of activities, including sporting tournaments, trade exhibitions, flower shows, national festival competitions and other events.