Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Daniel Johnson confirmed yesterday that the new Thomas A Robinson National Stadium will be certified by the end of the year. The certification will come in the nick of time, as big plans were made by the executives in the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) to host local, regional and international meets at the stadium in 2013.
However, many Bahamians were hoping to sit in the new national stadium to watch the BTC/Scotiabank BAAA Olympic Trials this weekend, but the two-day event will be held at the old facility. "There is still a bit of construction going on, so you have health and safety issues over there," said Johnson. "The old facility will be upgraded and that will become a practice facility. We have about 50 different camps and clubs that train there every day by the way, if you go over there at 4 p.m. in the afternoon you would think that is a whole school. That facility will continue to grow.
"The new facility is several months away from being fully functional and you will hear, at the end of the summer, some unveiling of events that will be coming before the end of the year. But we have some capital work to do around it, so when people come it is user friendly. But it wasn't ready for these trials that are going on now. We still have some capital works that we have to complete. But in short order, that will be done. We will have all of that in by the end of the year. You will have a great track. By year end we would have a facility there that you will be very proud of."
The stadium was officially opened on February 25, 2011. The national facility, named after Thomas Augustus Robinson, is a gift to The Bahamas from the People's Republic of China. The 15,000-seat facility, had an estimated cost of $30 million dollars. It is the home of the BAAA and the Bahamas Football Association (BFA).
Topping the list of events, for the BAAA, is the CARIFTA Track and Field Championships. The Bahamas won the bid for the games, which are usually held during the Easter weekend. Other big events, the BAAA plans to host at the new facility, are the inaugural International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Relay Championships in 2014 and 2015. Trials for other championships, to be held on the international arena will be hosted at the new facility when it is officially completed.
Even though this year's trials will not run out of the new Thomas A. Robinson stadium Minister Johnson believes it will be a success. He added: "The ministry always assist the Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) with their preparations. We work hand-and-hand with that association. That association does a very good job on its own and whatever is needed, we assist with. The subvention for athletes, just for the public knows, is almost just like a scholarship for student-athletes who are doing very, very well and we try to assist them to continue to train. That is ongoing. That hasn't been diminished in anyway. So the Olympic trials which will be starting today (Friday), at the TAR will start at 5:30 p.m.
"The quest now is to take that team and to perform. You have only a month to go the Summer Olympic and our teams, some of who have already qualified and others will seek to qualify this weekend. We encourage the Bahamian to come out."
The official list of qualifiers, from over the weekend, will be announced by the BOC and the BAAA.
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