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May 12, 2024

Installation of field floodlights to be finished by March

The damaged floodlights at the George Town Annex, the Ed Bush Stadium and the Truman Bodden Sports Complex should be fixed within the next two months. Department of Sports Director Kurt Hyde announced

The damaged floodlights at the George Town Annex, the Ed Bush Stadium and the Truman Bodden Sports Complex should be fixed within the next two months.

Department of Sports Director Kurt Hyde announced that the procurement process has been completed, and there should be no further delays to the work, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Sports on Friday, 27 Jan.

“DoS recognises the impact the lighting situation is having on sports, and we have already made significant steps to rectify the matter,” he said. “We are looking at late March 2023, to get all the equipment on island and installed.”

The lights have been down for over a year; they were damaged during Tropical Storm Grace in August 2021.

Several sports have faced difficulties due to the issue with the lights. For one, the Cayman Islands Football Association had to move most of its league matches to their Centre of Excellence grounds in Prospect.

Speaking with the Compass in October last year, Hyde asked the community to be patient because plans were on track for the lights to be fixed by the first quarter of this year, which this latest update confirms.

“The [department] looks forward to having these high-level LED lights in place to help enhance local sports, reduce our carbon footprint and attract more international sporting events to our islands,” he said in the press release.

In addition to fixing the floodlights, the department is renovating the changing rooms and restrooms at the George Town Annex, as well as the changing rooms and softball field lights at the Ed Bush Stadium in West Bay.

“Other remedial works currently underway include the Ed Bush grass field’s irrigation system, which has been reinstated along with field remedial works to provide another playing field for West Bay,” the release stated.

Plans are also in the works to lengthen the Ronald Forbes field in North Side to accommodate adult football matches.

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