Race against time to get Jarrett Park ready

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

Work is now on in earnest to get Jarrett Park up to standard to host its first match on Wednesday, in the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship.

Jarrett Park was not originally slated to host games in the 12-team tournament, but following the rejection of the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium by CONCACAF, the MoBay facility has now been earmarked as an alternative.

However, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) general secretary, Horace Reid, is not totally satisfied with the pace at which the work is being done at Jarrett Park.

"I still think we are moving a little bit slow," Reid expressed.

"As there has always been in this country, there is a level of bureaucracy that we cannot control," he further stated.

When contacted yesterday, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, noted Reid's anxiety, but expressed confidence that Jarrett Park will be ready.

"I don't think it is that things are going slowly, there were just so many issues and personalities and areas to fine-tune," Grange outlined.

"I think his (Reid) comment about things going too slow was not necessarily a criticism of anyone, but anxiety, which I would also express," she added.

cautiously optimistic

In a later release to the media, the minister said: "It is imperative that this tournament is a success, and I am confident that the new plan that we have devised will ensure that we deliver Jarrett Park to the required standard and on time."

In spite of his concerns, Reid remains cautiously optimistic that everything will be fine by the Monday afternoon deadline.

"I do expect that we will be delivering on Monday, I would be disappointed if we don't," Reid pointed out.

"I am told there will be another inspection today (yesterday) at Jarrett Park with the contractors, members of the government and members of the LOC (local organising committee) to look at what needs to be done and get on with it immediately," he added.

The key infrastructural improvements that are required at Jarrett Park concerns the construction of a media centre, a hospitality facility, a medical centre and a facility to accommodate the match commissioners and referee assessors, as well as improvements to the changing rooms.

With the exception of the training venues - which are still being finalised - everything is in place to accommodate the teams.

"Accommodation, transportation and all the other logistical things are in place," Reid affirmed. "What is now being finalised is the training grid because the teams are constantly making changes to their training plans."

Monday's two opening matches, which were originally slated to be played at the Trelawny stadium, will now be played at Catherine Hall.

The other two match days that were scheduled for the Trelawny stadium - Wednesday and Friday of next week - will be staged at Jarrett Park, once it is passed fit.

Jamaica will bow into action on Tuesday when they face Trinidad and Tobago in a 3 p.m. encounter at Catherine Hall, subsequent to the opening ceremony.

In the meantime, an intense investigation has been ordered by Minister Grange to determine what went wrong at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium. According to the press release, a team of experts from the Ministry of Agriculture visited Trelawny yesterday and took samples as part of the ongoing investigation.