Government to Ensure Proper Maintenance of Multi-Purpose Stadium

State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Delano Franklyn has said that the Government of Jamaica has put a plan in place to ensure the proper maintenance of the Trelawny Multipurpose Stadium.
“I do know that it will cost us to be able to maintain it and to promote it. The cost of maintenance will be $2 million per month and I am happy to say we have been able to identify an institution that is prepared to undertake the responsibility of paying that maintenance over a period of time,” Senator Franklyn pointed out. Making his contribution to the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on February 23, the State Minister said that Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller would give details of the plan when she addressed Parliament on the arrangements for the stadium’s future use.
Senator Franklyn, who is the Government Co-ordinator for the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007, informed the Upper House that US$30 million was spent to construct the multi-purpose stadium in Trelawny and that the facility would be beneficial to the people of Trelawny.
“I dare anyone to go into Trelawny or to go into the west and to say to the people down there, that they are not deserving of this stadium that is being built,” said the State Minister.
In the meantime, the Senator said that the Caribbean and Jamaica have been getting a lot of attention from abroad as a result of the hosting of CWC 2007.
“The size of the media coming here will be about 1,000. They will be all over the Caribbean and we as a government will not be paying anything for broadcasting rights. But in terms of the promotion of Jamaica, the value that has been put on it by all the experts during the World Cup is US$100 million,” said Senator Franklyn. He said the government viewed the hosting of Cricket World Cup as a major platform for sustainable future development and an opportunity to reposition Jamaica in the global economy as a business and investment destination.
“Cricket World Cup will be a catalyst for positive growth through greater international competitiveness brought about by enhanced export performance, especially in growth sectors, and accelerated development of Jamaican enterprises,” Senator Franklyn said.