By Neto Baptiste
It’s been almost two months since the famed West Indies Oil Company (WIOC) “Double Decker” stand was demolished, but President of the Antigua and Barbuda Athletics Association (ABAA), Everton Cornelius, said the body is still awaiting the arrival of promised material from the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) to be used in erecting stands at the YASCO track and field facility.
“The last discussion I had with Minister [Daryll] Matthew, he said to me that they have now dismantled the double decker and will be transporting the material to YASCO, and he would not want them to lay down there in the grass and have grass growing over them; so he hopes we will start working on the stands. I don’t think he means that the athletics association would start working on the stand, but they could have my expertise where that is concerned, pro bono, as usual, but the government would have to find the labour aspect of it to erect the stands at YASCO. I haven’t seen any movement at all in that direction and nobody has said anything to me,” he said.
Minister of Sports Daryll Matthew said last year that wood from the now dismantled WIOC stand would be used to erect seating at the country’s lone track and field facility. Matthew’s statement was backed by Cornelius who said he had discussions with the minister regarding how the wooden seats could be repurposed for the YASCO stands.
Cornelius is hoping it’s an oversight following reports that material from the stand has been sighted elsewhere.
“I am hearing along the wayside that some of the material is somewhere in Bolans or Jennings … I don’t know how true it is, but I think the concentration should really be on YASCO because that’s where all the athletes congregate on a daily basis and that’s where the spectators and the patrons would come to enjoy some track & field action,” he said.
The athletics boss, however, assured that the body will press on, revealing they have received some seating from another association that had no further use for them.
“We have gotten a donation of some seating from the tennis association and I must say thanks to Cordell Williams. We are now looking at erecting those seating — before the season starts — on the eastern side of the grounds because we can’t put them on the western side with the plans they have for the western side. Outside of that, we will be sitting down and planning out our season early so we could execute what we have to do effectively and that we can, at least, get as many people as possible involved in track and field for this upcoming season,” Cornelius said.
Dismantling of the WIOC or “Double Decker” party stand commenced in June this year and was completed just ahead of the country’s 2022 Carnival celebrations in July.