Sports facilities in the clear after quake but:
SEVEN of the nine facilities managed and maintained by the Sport Company of TT (SPORTT) have been cleared following Tuesday’s earthquake, while two others– the Jean Pierre Complex and the Hasely Crawford Stadium, have been closed until further notice.
The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, which is managed by the Urban Development Corporation of TT (UDeCOTT), was given the “all clear” by the state company’s engineer on record and the structural engineer.
Both the TT Pro League and the TT Rugby Football Union announced the cancellation of matches which were originally scheduled to play yesterday and this weekend at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. Both venues are located on the same compound on Wrightson Extension Road, Port of Spain.
The TT Pro League notice read, “The stadium’s management stated that there have been some minor structural damage following Tuesday’s earthquake and today’s which they need to attend to before the venue is considered safe.”
Asked for information on the condition of the nine venues, facilities and maintenance lead at SPORTT Arvin Ragoonath confirmed the indefinite closure of the Hasely Crawford Stadium and the Jean Pierre Complex.
“None that we have inspected (got damaged) but a structural engineer will be called in to do assessments. The other venues are okay, it’s just the Hasely Crawford and the Jean Pierre,” Ragoonath said.
“It’s just that a piece of glass broke but we want to do a structural assessment of both facilities to keep it within safety regulations to make sure everything is okay before anyone uses them.
“Right now checks are being done but most of the facilities are back to normal as of now. Most of the facilities are functional.”
The THA/Bmobile Tobago Junior ITF Tennis Tournament, which started on Tuesday morning at the National Racquet Centre, Tacarigua, was cleared to continue.
Meanwhile, the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, which will host the 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League semifinal and final on September 14 and 16, was unaffected. Alisha Romano, strategic business unit manager at UDeCOTT, said the engineer on record and structural engineer advised that “no damage was done” and “the facility is sound from a structural standpoint.” Romano said there will be a report done on the findings.