That horrible lighting at Victoria Park

It is becoming more and more aggravating relative to the state of lights currently at the Victoria Park.

This, as the continuous deterioration has fallen on deaf ears, and met with no action despite the many complaints from many users.

It is quite evident that the custodians of the facility, the National Lotteries Authority, does not care one hoot about the lighting as, over the years, little by way of improvements have been pursued.

Evidence of this is that for some time now, segments of the lights have not been functioning, with nothing mentioned of some intent to rectify or improve the situation.

More so, despite its established mandate- to support sports and culture, it seems farcical as sporting or cultural entities get the messy end of the stick whenever activities are staged at the venue.

There is no gainsaying that whenever sports are played at the venue at nights, they are done in semi- darkness, as what passes for lights, are merely bulbs lodged on six poles.

The lovers of sport now have comparisons, as the lights at the Arnos Vale Playing Field, as well as that at the Brighton Playing Field, make Victoria Park look pale, as if the latter has outlived their usefulness and lifespan.

The need for improvement has gained ground and traction as a result of some cultural shifts, as more and more the Victoria Park is in demand, given that many secondary schools are moving towards hosting their annual Inter-house Track and Field championships on afternoons into the night.

Whilst Athletics can endure the worsening deficiencies at Victoria Park, as it is generally confined to February and March, Football, is hardest hit as the season extends into the months of November to April/ May.

The ongoing Premiership of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation’s (SVGFF) National Club Championships, is testament of the semi darkness that prevails at the Victoria when matches are convened.

And, given the configuration of the pavilions, exacerbated by the horrendous lighting does not cut a pleasing sight.

It is pitiful and shameful that selected matches are being streamed live on the FIFA+ Channel for the world to see. Obviously, persons outside of St Vincent and the Grenadines may be having a good laugh at us, believing that is the best we have to offer.

But the scant respect is compounded by the fact that the contracted broadcasting entity that streams the matches, is closely linked with the National Lotteries Authority, which makes their oblivion and nonchalant response even more toxic.

The protracted situation though, places the SVGFF in a bad position, as they are left to the wolves to bear their grind whilst the NLA parades their conspicuous reluctance to do better.

We are into 2025, and we are all cognizant that it is a significant year, viz-a- viz, it is an election year,

As such, the political landscape will be running red hot as the days and months go by, and will not want to leave any stones unturned.

Therefore, those who hold the purse strings and have their ears to the ground, should take the temperature and acknowledge there is a dire need to fix the lighting at the Victoria Park.

The political directorate by their own admission, concedes the poor lighting at the Victoria Park.

That guilt was borne out last October, when the 45th Independence celebrations took place at the facility in the night, the venue was bolstered with additional lights. Do we need a more boldface confession?

Fixing the lighting is easy as one, two, three, as the National Lotteries Authority is not hand to mouth.

From the outside looking in, we can conclude that the Board of Directors and other key stakeholders, do not have that will to ensure that the lights are up to standard and suffice with some adequacy, the sporting and cultural engagements at Victoria Park.