The new Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium presents a new era for Bahamian sports and provides a venue to host athletic and non-athletic regional and international events, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said at the official opening of the facility on Saturday night.
"Generations of young Bahamians and aspiring athletes can dream even bigger dreams because of today. In addition to world-class facilities, my government will continue to enhance athletic scholarships and other sports programs," Ingraham said.
He said the $30 million gift of this new national stadium from the government of the People's Republic of China is a generous demonstration of the good relations and friendship between the two governments and peoples since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1997.
Thousands of Bahamians attended the historic event on what was dubbed a night of celebration, and many others watched the opening on television.
The stadium, which seats 15,000, was filled to capacity and a government official said an estimated 1,000 more people were barred entry once there were no more empty seats.
The four-hour long event included a reenactment of the Golden Girls' 2000 Olympic gold medal relay performance; performances by several Bahamian musicians; a video tribute to Robinson and a Junkanoo rush-out.
An extravagant firework display closed out the show.
"Tonight we celebrate the very essence of who we are as a people; we celebrate our Bahamian identity and nationhood," Ingraham said.
"Tommy, you make us all proud to be a Bahamian.  You are a sprinter by training yet you are also a marathon man as demonstrated by your considerable contributions to national development, and in helping to bring to fruition, the dream of this day."
Ingraham said the celebration was meant to foster unity and bring people from all sides of the political divide together.
"We are all here this evening with unity of spirit, unity of purpose, a shared love of country and a Bahamian patriotism that transcends creed and race, circumstance of birth and political affiliation," he said.
He also thanked Opposition Leader Perry Christie and his colleagues for laying the foundation for the stadium while their party was in government.
Members of the athletic community who attended the event said seeing the completed stadium was a proud moment for them.
"It's a day long coming; it's a day that we in sports were waiting for and are very happy about. We made it, we can say that this is our day," Wellington Miller, president of the Bahamas Olympic Committee, said ahead of the show.
Miller said the stadium will bring in "hundreds of millions into this country and cause a lot of employment".
Tim Munnings, a former 400-meter (m) and 4x4m relay runner, said the new stadium will inspire younger athletes to compete even harder now that they have a top notch facility at home to perform in.
"It's a proud moment for us and it gives the athletes today an opportunity to run in a stadium and see a stadium they would not normally get to unless you were traveling to a major competition," said Munnings, who is director of sports at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.
Although the stadium was a gift from the People's Republic of China, the government has to spend an additional $50 to perform necessary upgrades infrastructure around the site, Ingraham announced previously.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian