The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

GOVERNMENT has identified land in the Family Islands to build first-class sporting facilities, Prime Minister Perry Christie said yesterday.

He made the announcement in the House of Assembly while congratulating the men’s national beach soccer team for their performance last week.

Mr Christie said in order for the Bahamas to truly become competitive in sports, the government must invest the resources to provide athletes with the best opportunities.

“I would like to say this about moving forward, just yesterday I spoke to my colleagues about the fact that we ought not to compromise on extending the frontiers of sports through establishment of facilities throughout the Bahamas. The great tragedy of sports in an Island nation is that the people who are selected generally to represent their country come from the islands where there are facilities and when you look at the islands you really speak of Grand Bahama and New Providence,” he said.

“We have to come to a stage in our 40th anniversary that a decision was made to extend the facilities. When I last debated during the mid-year budget, I indicated we have to find a way now, not next year, not the year after but now, to begin the process of putting sports facilities in islands. The fact of the matter is Abaco, Eleuthera, Andros and Exuma, these are islands where we are proposing to address right now. We have to find a way to begin the process of establishing a sports complex in each island, reflective of what is at the sports center in New Providence.

“That land has been identified in Abaco and the land has been identified in Moore’s Island. The fact of the matter is, I am moving with immediate effect to bring that about because I know that there has to be something that will be accepted by the population at large, something that will be very wholesome for our country and I want to move quickly in the shortest period of time.”

Mr Christie said the government will not be undertaking such a large scale project alone. He said they are receiving help from the corporate world.

“I want Bahamians to know that I am working on the premise that we are going to also have significant corporate support in this regard. I have spoken to developers at Bakers Bay for example and I have indicated to them what my plans are. Right at Bakers Bay they built a basketball facility, they built a baseball facility for their guests and I said to them, ‘I want you to help me do the same thing on the mainland,’” he said.

“The people of Abaco have built a softball field on their own and this softball field will be incorporated into the planning that will go on for Abaco and I have no doubt that Abaco will join me in putting a swimming pool there. So the fact of the matter is, we are going to have a swimming complex, we will have the facility, we will have the soccer players. It is a great day for me in sports and you have to do this in an island-nation like the Bahamas.”

Christie said he will reveal more details on these plans in the upcoming budget debate.