SPORTS Minister and parliamentary representative Shawn Edward has said that the newlyrecommissioned La Ressource Playing field is to serve as a multi purpose facility.
The field which had been closed for the better part of two years was restored to glory last Sunday amid a huge turnout of spectators that stunned Edward, who told the gathering:
“ I cannot understand what is happening here in terms of crowd support. I always knew that we were sports loving people, but the crowd here exceeds my expectations. I can just imagine what this holds for sports development here in the Valley”.
Edward said from his lay assessment of the football, he had noticed that the players were having a task adjusting to the new dimensions of the La Ressource playing field.
He said: “We have a football pitch which is the same size as what obtains at the Beausejour Cricket Ground – 110’x70’. This is much bigger than the La Resource playing field was before and it’s also bigger than the playing field we have been using for the last two years – the Grand Riviere playing field. So it calls for a bit of adaptation and I can tell that some players are beginning to show signs of fatigue. But at the end of the day, I am optimistic that players are going to adjust. It calls for a much higher level of fitness. If we want our players to aspire to a national level and beyond they have to come out and begin to acclimatize to the conditions they would be accustomed to when they go out to compete”.
Edward said the facility would be used for football, cricket and track and field, adding: “Only recently I had discussions with a church group; and I have started encouraging the youth groups and the various churches to begin to plan their gospel explosions. This is going to be a multi-purpose facility; it’s going to be well managed. And it’s a facility we want persons from all walks of life in the Valley to come out and enjoy”.
Edward said the project has so far cost $1.2 million.