Sting promoter calls for nat'l entertainment venue

The organisers of the international dancehall concert Sting want the Government to establish a suitable national venue to host large entertainment events.

According to Howard McIntosh of Sting organisers Supreme Promotions, this would go a far way in making the staging of local entertainment events more profitable.

"We historically and habitually look at sports and entertainment as something that you do when you don't have anything else to do," McIntosh said on Power 106 FM's 'Real Business' programme yesterday.

"Entertainment needs something to assist in its development and to ensure that we unearth and nurture the talent that exists in Jamaica and make sure that we make some money," he charged.

McIntosh said without such a facility, the profitability of events like Sting, billed as 'The Greatest One-Night Reggae Show on Earth', would continue to be threatened.

COST DOUBLED

According to the promoter, this year, it cost about US$1 million (J$103 million) to put on the dancehall concert.

This is double the US$500,000 (J$50 million) it cost last year.

McIntosh said a significant portion of this year's bill went into reconstructing the Jamworld venue in Portmore, St Catherine, bringing it to an international standard which significantly burrowed into the profits.

He said the situation would recur next year because the venue will have to be reconstructed yet again as there is no suitable facility for such events.

McIntosh said the Government should consider the suggestion to create a proper entertainment facility, given the importance of the industry to Jamaica and the fact that the venue could be used as a multi-purpose venue.