Government Rolls Out Ambitious Plan to Transform Sports Facilities

Sports development in Belize is gaining strong momentum, and it’s already taking shape on the ground. Government is rolling out an ambitious plan to build a network of high-performance training centers across the country, starting with a major overhaul of the Marion Jones Sporting Complex. Minister of Sports Anthony Mahler says works are already in motion, and the upgrades won’t stop there. Several other facilities are also being transformed as part of a broader effort to elevate local athletics to a new level.

 

Anthony Mahler, Minister of Sports

“Marion Jones is going to be called what we are deeming a high-performance center. So, we want to have four in the country, one in the north, one in the west and one in the south. So we are starting to focus on Mation Jones. In terms of the work at Mation Jones if you go out there you will see a lot of land clearing, getting the place ready for some of the heavy works and upgrades. The Mexican Center is almost complete. The courts are on their way to Belize, the courts we are going to put out there, we have ordered the rims. So a lot of work is going out there. we are doing a master plan for the entire compound. We are looking to have an Olympic swimming pool, rock climbing, two tennis courts and a whole bunch of sports, so that you have public spaces and competition spaces. For example in Marion Jones as well we have signed an agreement with the FFB to put a synthetic pitch out there as well. the MCC will be natural. We are going to put another synthetic field in that space we have in Santa Elena.”

 

The People’s Stadium in Orange Walk is currently receiving much needed attention, following widespread backlash on social media. 

 

Government Bets on Homegrown Athletic Talent Over Travel Costs

 

Investing in new sports facilities may be a win for infrastructure, but what about investing directly in the athletes? Minister Anthony Mahler says it all comes down to the budget. He explains that every dollar must fit within the ministry’s limits. When it comes to funding athletes traveling abroad, Mahler argues that support must deliver results, insisting it’s not worth the cost if performance doesn’t improve. Instead, the ministry and the National Sports Council are placing big hopes on the newly launched Super National Tournament to help develop local talent at home.

 

Anthony Mahler, Minister of Sports

“The situation is from when Minister Daly and I took over, we want from every federation, every association a three-year plan for competitions internationally, for what you are going to do development wise. You cant come tell me two weeks before a competition that you want a hundred and fifty thousand dollars for x amount for people. We want to know, alright if you are going to compete in the hundred meter are you running eleven seconds like the last person did, then why are you going, because you know man the run under nine, under ten. So that is wasting money. So we want to develop from the child moving into our elite athletes. So this summer the national sports council is going to launch the super national. For people who don’t understand the competition in Belize, we have the primary school and high school. We have districts and nationals and the district competitions are focused on schools. The supernational will be comprised of the best players from every district and so we want a scouting program to start with this to showcase our best basketball players, best football players, best track athlete and best volleyball players.”

 

The Super National Tournament is set to take place during the summer.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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