Cars racing illegally at MoBay stadium

Western Bureau:

While track athletes in western Jamaica have been denied the use of the 400-metre synthetic running track at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall for the past five years, racing cars were seen speeding around the track early Thursday morning, much to the chagrin of the city’s mayor, Leeroy Williams.

A video captured at the location by an onlooker showed two of the racing cars speeding around the track while the voice of another onlooker was overheard saying,”(name of a popular race driver) got back the curve.”

“Honestly, I don’t know what to say,” said Williams, who was clearly at a loss for words after viewing the video. “Absolutely no permission was granted for such an activity to take place at the stadium. No request was made to us and no permission was granted.”

When quizzed as to how the motorists could have gotten into the stadium, which is usually securely locked, Williams said the only plausible explanation is that the security personnel at the stadium, who have no authority to act without permission, must have let them in.

“The only persons with keys to the stadium would be the security down there. So they will have to answer to us about this,” said a clearly unhappy Williams.

According to the mayor, the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC), on which he serves as chairman, has no plans to sanction any such activities at the stadium. So, if anyone were thinking of making such a request, he said they need to know that they will not be facilitated.

“We are not going to allow anyone to use the stadium for that type of activity,” said Williams. “I can promise you that no such permission will ever be granted.”

“As it relates to what happened this morning, we will be seeking to get to the bottom of it, because something like this must never happen again,” said Williams. “The security will have to answer to us.”

Ray Harvey, the chairman of the Milo Western Relays, western Jamaica’s premier track and field event, was totally flabbergasted when he was told about the cars racing on the stadium track, which was taken out of official use because of its significant ‘wear and tear’.

“Words can’t explain how I feel at this time,” said Harvey, the driving force behind track and field in western Jamaica. “We have not been able to use this track for the past five years and now this. This can only lead to a further deterioration of the track.”

Harvey, who was forced to take the Milo Western Relays to the G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport, St Catherine, when the track was taken out of use five years ago, said the continued unavailability of the track has decimated the region’s track and field programme.

“Our once-vibrant track programme has been suffering because our young athletes no longer have this facility to use,” said Harvey. “We are now at an all-time low and, honestly, I don’t know if we will ever recover.”

Efforts to contact president of the Montego Bay Motoring Club Dean Corrodus proved futile as his phone rang without answer.

Since the track was taken out of use, the government has made several announcements about plans to repair or replace the track. However, those promises have come to nothing, much to the disappointment of track enthusiasts in western Jamaica, who are no longer able to see world-class athletes on show under championship conditions in the region.

The multi-million dollar stadium, which was officially opened on June 5, 2010, is a gift from the government of Venezuela to the people of western Jamaica.