Development Plans for Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre

Plans are under way to develop the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre into a prime venue for concerts and stage shows, shopping, dining and other activities.

The facility, which houses an entertainment centre and the Louise Bennett Garden Theatre, is a popular location for the staging of arts development programmes and national cultural celebrations organised by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).

Over the past week, it was transformed into an Independence Village for the hosting of day and night events for Jamaica’s Emancipation and Independence celebrations.

Executive Director of the JCDC, Dr. Delroy Gordon, told JIS News that there is a committee in place looking at the “major development” of the complex.

“Hopefully, if the funds are available, we should have a completed, refurbished and a renewed Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre going into next year,” he said.

He told JIS News that the development plan includes redesigning the centre to accommodate restaurants, businesses and craft shops and to host entertainment events throughout the year and not just seasonally.

“So, it can be a place where you can go, and in keeping with Kingston’s recent designation as a Creative City of Music by UNESCO, Ranny Williams will have to play a major role in that,” he pointed out.

Dr. Gordon said that in order to accommodate more persons for stage shows the seating stands in the theatre will be removed.  He informed that only 2,500 persons can be seated inside the theatre.

“If the seats are removed then it would be able to accommodate upwards of 5,000 persons,” he pointed out.

“What we would be able to do next year and succeeding years is that whilst we would reserve (the theatre) for the stage shows, we would use all of the front lawns for the Independence Village itself and there would not be the need to close the Village and reopen it for the night shows,” he explained.