Marriaqua Valley bright with new hard court lights

At long last, Larry Bascombe’s vision to have a lighted hard court in the Marriaqua valley has been realized.{{more}}

The memorandum of understanding was signed by Bascombe and Bentley Browne of the Social Investment Fund (SIF) back in May 2008 and on Monday, August 2, the facility at Richland Park was officially opened.

“It has been years that we have waited and waited for this moment,” Ashley Caine of the Marriaqua Sports Council said.

“This is indeed a dream come true for us here in Marriaqua, maybe we would now see more stars coming out,” Caine continued.

“Marriaqua has produced some top players and we look forward to continue working with sports people in making full use of the facility as we hope to be a force to be reckoned with.”

The eventual cost of the project has been placed at just over EC$400,000, with contributions coming in from SIF, the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) and the National Sports Council (NSC).

The scheduled January opening had to be pushed back after the facility’s surface was deemed unsatisfactory for play by the NSC.

This decision came after the restorative work on the surface had been completed and accepted playable by SIF.

Nevertheless, all 15 constituencies are equipped with its own lighted facility.

“Marriaqua was the only hard court that didn’t have any lights,” Girlyn Miguel, Minister of Education and area representative said in her address.

She also spoke of the effort made by Bascombe and the initial work he put in to see the project started.

Miguel also spoke of the significance of having such a facility, noting that “sports in Richland Park must continue.”

“It must continue to be on the front burner,” Miguel contended.

She spoke of the other ongoing projects in the constituency which included work at the Cane End Playing Field and the balance of work to be done at Richland Park.

Miguel added that she had plans for the construction of a proposed indoor sporting facility, but indicated that this project would take some time in coming, bearing in mind the current economic climate. (DD)