Sport in the West – Its Neglect, Its Opportunity

2026-03-25 - 20:03

If you look across St. James, Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth, Hanover or Trelawny, you will be hard-pressed to find a sporting facility that even approaches international standard. Whether it is Jarrett Park or Catherine Hall, they fall well below the required mark. Some may be tempted to point to aspects of Catherine Hall—particularly its football use—as adequate, but those with even a rudimentary understanding of sporting infrastructure know better. Even the so-called Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium struggles to define its purpose. This assessment is not tied to the passage of Hurricane Melissa, which admittedly did devastate the Montego Bay Sports Complex. However, the hurricane cannot be blamed for the longstanding issues of poor management, underinvestment and neglect that have defined these other facilities. A Region Without Infrastructure For a country so emotionally invested in sport, it is concerning that western Jamaica remains so underserved. Across the region, there is no single facility that meets international standards—whether for football, swimming, cricket, track and field, or basketball. The same gaps extend to sports such as tennis, netball and rugby. One could argue that in some cases such facilities are lacking across the island—but that does not diminish the reality in the west. This is not a new issue. When the former Minister of Finance, Dr. Nigel Clarke, was briefed on the need to resuscitate the running track at Catherine Hall, he sought a broader understanding of the facility. It required little persuasion for him to support the upgrade of the entire complex. Costings for the track were already available, and he requested similar estimates for the full rehabilitation of the venue. That effort, however, did not materialise—highlighting a deeper, more persistent problem. Much has been said about Kingston not being Jamaica, and vice versa. In the context of rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa, focusing on the west is not only justified—it is necessary. Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium Jarrett Park – Image via Dean Salomon on Facebook Montego Bay Sports Complex Hurricane Melissa Damage – Image via foxweather.com Track and Field: Decline and Missed Opportunity Track and field remains Jamaica’s most celebrated sport internationally, yet the supporting infrastructure tells a very different story. The only synthetic track outside the Corporate Area is at G.C. Foster College, while the track at Catherine Hall has been condemned by the governing body since 2017. Given this reality, the Grand Slam track concept presented a clear opportunity. Negotiating the upgrade of Catherine Hall as part of such an initiative—particularly for an event with strong tourism potential—would have been a logical and strategic move. Instead, the decision to concentrate the event in Kingston set a questionable tone. Track and field is not, by nature, a consistent spectator sport in Jamaica. Outside of Boys and Girls Championships and landmark moments such as the farewell of Usain Bolt, the National Stadium rarely fills to capacity. An event of this nature would have benefited from a more intimate setting—such as the approximately 10,000-seat Catherine Hall facility in Montego Bay, Jamaica’s tourism capital. In that context, the funds directed towards the National Stadium may have been better invested in restoring Catherine Hall and strengthening the sporting landscape in the west. What an Upgrade Could Unlock The benefits of rehabilitating Catherine Hall—and, by extension, investing in sporting infrastructure in the west—are substantial: Athletes based in the west would no longer need to travel to Kingston or Spanish Town to train Events currently held at G.C. Foster could return to the region, reducing costs and easing pressure on that facility Schools and institutions in the west would gain access to an appropriately sized venue for competition Smaller meets, unsuitable for a 35,000-seat stadium, would become viable Many of these events could be integrated into Jamaica’s tourism product Beyond sport, such development would enhance Montego Bay’s standing as a city and could serve as a catalyst for broader infrastructure investment. Realising this potential, however, will require stronger alignment between the public and private sectors. Efforts by private stakeholders, including the proposal led by Mr Epstein and his colleagues to lease and develop the Catherine Hall complex, deserve recognition. The apparent miscommunication between local and central government, as implied in a recent public comment, is somewhat worrying. With the governing party being in charge of both local and central government, the opportunity to facilitate this development alongside the private sector seems tailor-made for progress. A Moment That Should Not Be Missed The conclusion that the west is lacking in sporting facilities is impatient of debate. The opportunity for this facilitation seems to be waiting for the gentlest of push starts. The benefits need no enumeration. It is over to the critical stakeholders to do the requisite due diligence. The cancellation of the Western Relays for 2026 over the lack of available facilities could be a blessing in disguise. For it to have been staged in the east for yet another year would be an almost ridiculous perpetuation. There is no doubt that if the work, particularly on the track, begins now, the facility can be fully ready for the 2027 staging.