![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Senator-Oscar-George-file-photo.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, Youth, Sports and Community Development, Senator Oscar George\u00a0has announced that the first round of the lighting upgrades to community playing fields on the island is complete.<\/p>\n
He made the disclosure during a press conference on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you all know, the ministry responsible for sports has been undertaking a number of initiatives to strengthen and grow both community sports and sports at the national level,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd as I have always indicated, in order to achieve sustained benefits from sports at the national, regional, and international levels, preparations must start at the grassroots level at a young age when the interest is high among the young people.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to him, during various engagements last year the issue of lighting was regularly highlighted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m pleased to report that the first round of lighting upgrades to community playing fields is complete. Under this phase, \u00a0lighting solutions were installed on eight community playing fields,\u201d George said.<\/p>\n
These areas include the Teza Grounds in Mahaut, the Grand Fond playing field, the Soufri\u00e8re playing field, the Anse De Mai playing field, the Vieille Case playing field, the playing field in Grand Bay, Granville playing field, and the Bellevue Chopin playing field.<\/p>\n
George noted that the scope of works included the construction of the concrete bases, trenching to allow for underground cables, which is consistent with the country’s resilience agenda, direction of 45-foot metal poles on the concrete bases, and installation of LED lights to the individual poles. This broad initiative cost $1.4 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is our hope that the youth, \u00a0women, and even senior citizens make optimum use of these lighting interventions for leagues, tournaments, and general outdoor recreation,\u201d he encouraged.<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cAs we speak, assessments are currently on the way to identify additional community playing fields that may warrant lighting upgrades.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furthermore, George revealed that the Government of Dominica has finalized an agreement valued at $13.8 million for the restoration of lighting at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project will be funded [by] the National Lottery Commission and will be executed by Prabha International Inc, a reputable sports lighting company based in Canada [that] has been contracted to execute the lighting project at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium.”<\/p>\n
Last week, the company\u2019s president, Rajnesh Walia, met with officials from the Ministry of Sports, the Dominica Lotteries Commission, the Customs and Excise Department, the Electrical Division, the National Sports Council, and other stakeholders to discuss the scope of works and project expectations.<\/p>\n
The project\u00a0is scheduled to commence this month and is expected to create employment opportunities for up to 70 Dominicans.<\/p>\n
Moreover, he said an initial mobilization payment of US$1 million has already been paid to the contractor and will include payments for the procurement of anchor bolts, rebars, foundational works, and the commencement of shipping.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo in the coming weeks, we will start to see movement taking place at the Windsor Park,\u201d George revealed.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe expect the first set of containers to arrive mid-month June, and we expect towards the end of the month in June that work on the foundation for the poles will commence.\u201d<\/p>\n
George went on to state that the ministry is also advancing key sporting facilities implemented under the\u00a0Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) project.<\/p>\n
\u201c One such project is the complete upgrade of the Trafalgar basketball court, which is advancing very well as we speak,\u201d he noted. \u201cAs we know, Trafalgar is known as one of the most prominent communities when it comes to basketball. And I believe that this upgrade will certainly create better opportunities for the youth in that area.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cThis upgrade includes a media center, covered seating, washrooms, change rooms, new markings, uprights, and perimeter fencing. This project is to the tune of $920,000.\u201d<\/p>\n
George pointed out that another sporting project currently being implemented under the BNTF Cycle 10 is the upgrade to the Delices Playing Field, \u201cto include the construction of a small pavilion, change room, and the grassing of the playing surface. Again, this is progressing well and is at a tune of $870,000.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another popular venue he mentioned, in the southeast, was the Castle Bruce playing field.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe intention under this project is to get Castle Bruce to a level of a regional playing field to include leveling, retaining structures, drainage, construction of a proper pavilion and washroom facility,\u201d he explained. \u201c Once finalized, \u00a0this will be a great addition to the Southeast because \u00a0as we all know, the Southeast has been producing excellent athletes and sporting teams over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, Youth, Sports and Community Development, Senator Oscar George\u00a0has announced that the first round of the lighting upgrades to community playing fields on the island is complete. He made the disclosure during a…","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":342750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[235,285,9,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-342747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage-carousel","category-infrastructure","category-news","category-sports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n