By Neto Baptiste
The YMCA Sports Complex, a popular venue for schools’ netball and basketball, could be in line to receive some additional upgrades from the government.
This is according to Minister of Sports, Daryll Matthew who — although not placing a timeline of any works that will be done at the facility — said the old building which normally houses coaches and some administrative staff is in need of urgent attention.
“It can always be better, but I think it is being handled a bit better now than it was before; but there is always room for improvement,” he said.
“One of the things I personally don’t like about YMCA is the building down there; it is in a deplorable state. I am not a structural engineer but the building needs to just come down and if we are going to put something there, then put a proper structure that can house some of the coaches who are now up at Cassada Gardens — the coaches in the schools programme
The facility, over the past four to five years, has received some attention from the government with the resurfacing and re-marking of the basketball court and the adjacent netball courts.
“We have tried to keep the place at a particular standard and for the most part, I am pleased. We changed the
[basketball]
rims at YMCA and they were there for almost 30 years and they are still in good condition because we had then refurbished … and they are at Liberta,” he said.
Work has also been done on the seating inside the venue, while new basketball poles and rims have recently been installed. Lighting at the venue has also been improved with the installation of new bulbs and the rewiring of some electrical components.