Stadium lights now ready to install – Grange

MINISTER OF Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, has confirmed that the new National Stadium lights have arrived on the island.

The issue of stadium lighting has been a huge topic of discussion and was amplified after the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) was forced to move the June 6 World Cup qualifier from 6:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. between the Reggae Boyz and the Dominican Republic. : 30 hours

Talk with THE Sunday Gleaner Minister Grange said the installation process would begin tomorrow.

“This is major news because the lighting was only acceptable for certain sporting disciplines. There was a problem with Concacaf in that the lighting was not adequate because they (Concacaf) need 1,000 lumens. The lights were held up in customs and finally arrived, so we will install them on Monday,” she said.

Grange further explained that the lighting upgrade would kick-start the long-awaited upgrade of the national stadium, which is now expected to begin in 2025.

“We will now have adequate lighting and will have more than the minimum required. This is an upgrade to the current facilities and the official upgrade of the stadium will begin when construction begins next year. This upgrade will take place in three phases and will result in extensive improvements to a state-of-the-art media centre, anti-doping facilities and significant improvements to what currently exists,” Grange said.

Dennis Chung, general secretary of the JFF, said he welcomed the news because moving the time of the Reggae Boyz’s match against the Dominican Republic was a financial blow.

“It’s very good because we had to move our World Cup qualifier from 6:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. We still had a good crowd and we felt that from the push we had made on the market, we would have had at least 75 percent more. It was a huge loss of income for us and a lot of Jamaicans were unable to see the match because of their work,” Chung said.

The customs issue required the ministry’s intervention and Chung praised it for noting the urgency of the situation.

“It also means that Jamaica will emerge from this embarrassing situation. We are the leading sporting nation in the region and we have not been able to host international evening matches. The minister’s decision to resolve this problem is truly commendable. This also means that on September 6, we will now be able to hold our match in the evening,” Chung said.

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