Tag: Greg Burrows

Burrows: ‘I Viewed With Dismay Slashes In The Current Budget’

As of Thursday, June 11, 2020

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#THE local sporting community continues to react to reports of massive budget cuts to the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

#Freedom Farm Baseball League Director and former PLP Senator, Greg Burrows, expressed concern at how the recent cuts will affect youth sports development.

#A significant reduction in expenditure from last year’s budget of $24,081,380 to around $18,938,187 (a $5,143,194 decrease) has meant that one of the areas that will receive less funding is youth sports development.

#“As a member of the sporting community with a focus on youth development, I viewed with dismay slashes in the current budget totalling $5,143194.00 within the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. This is not the first time the government has made significant budget cuts in this Ministry, adversely affecting our youth and athletes. Specifically, contributions to sports, civic and youth organisations were reduced by $60,000.00 from $300,000 to $240,000.00.”

#During his tenure in the Senate, Burrows also served as chairman of the Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority. As a founding member of the FFBL, Burrows has seen it grow into one of the most populated youth sporting organisations in the country which features hundreds of students athletes on an annual basis and its alumni includes several minor league baseball prospects. He questioned what he called the “human cost” of the budget cuts.

#“There is an urgent need to do more, not less, for our youth if we are to properly prepare them to confidently and competently receive the baton of leader of this country to continue its sustained growth and development. Essentially, this necessary preparation was one of the principal reasons for the establishment of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. The Progressive Liberal Party maintains that sports and culture have the potential to become significant pillars and engines of our economy as major components of our tourism product offerings,” Burrows said. “Our youth and sports development thrust during our last term in office – branded sports in paradise – laid a solid foundation and blueprint for the way forward in building this important industry. The PLP pledges upon assuming office to continue the programme ‘Sports in Paradise.’ Additionally, we pledge to substantially support sporting organisations, our athletes and to prioritise youth and sports development as central, critical and strategic to our future growth and development.”

#The Tribune previously reported highlights of portions of the budget that will affect local sports. Subventions to elite athletes will be dropped from $1,346,150 to $1,076,920, but it’s not known how many athletes will be affected going into the preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, which has been postponed until 2021.

#In addition, aid to student athletes will be reduced from $142,500 last year to about $110,000, although there is no indication as to who and how many athletes fall into this category.

#Further to the list, there is a National Endowment for Sports, pegged at $795,000, reduced from $1,632,000 last year, among others.

Work To Begin ‘Soon’ On $21m Baseball Stadium

As of Tuesday, July 19, 2016

photo

The artist’s impression of the new stadium, by Arconcepts.

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#WORK will start “as soon as possible” on the new $21m, 4,500-seat Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium, which will be erected east of the Government High School in the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre.

#Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, made the announcement yesterday at the site of the new stadium, almost three years after the groundbreaking took place.

#Among those at the announcement were Prime Minister Perry Christie, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Dr Daniel Johnson and executives from the local baseball fraternity, including Senator Greg Burrows and Bahamas Baseball Federation president Theodore ‘Teddy’ Sweeting.

#Mr Davis said that the original Andre Rodgers National Stadium, built in honour of The Bahamas’ greatest baseball icon in 1966 adjacent to the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium, was demolished in 2006 to facilitate construction of the new TAR National Stadium.

#A month after the groundbreaking ceremony in November, 2014, the Government agreed to start preparation of the site for the stadium under the supervision of the Ministry of Works and Urban Development, Mr Davis said. The architectural firm Arconcepts Ltd was appointed as the project design team to complete the full construction drawings.

#In 2015, Arconcepts provided the full architectural and project management services for the National Baseball Stadium and Dant Clayton, of Louisville, Kentucky, was engaged to provide the design services for and to fabricate the grandstand at a cost of $3,963,000.

#This year, tenders were submitted from four businesses to the Ministry of Finance on February 23 to erect the grandstand, the site works and infrastructure, landscape and furnishings, construction of the baseball field, installation of the scoreboard and required equipment as well as the stadium lighting.

#Woslee Construction, whose bid was the lowest at $24,956.004, agreed to a project cost reduction of 10 to 15 per cent (about $3.3m) to reach a final figure of $21,351,507 after the evaluations were made by J D Chisholm & Associates with the assistance from the Ministry of Works.

#Woslee won the bid over Forbes Construction ($34,077,621); Scorpio/Inline Construction J/V ($29,980,689) and Consolidated Construction Management/Cavalier Construction J/V ($26,017,915).

#Additionally, Mr Davis revealed that provisional sums totalling $4m were approved for statutory utility connections, baseball accessories and installations, digital/video scoreboard and installation, supply and construction of synthetic field, stadium lighting, stadium ‘Smart Technology’ design, PA system, AV system and security/surveillance system install.

#When completed the new Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium will have a seating capacity of 4,500, two auxiliary practice fields to the east of the stadium, locker rooms, meeting rooms, physical/therapy/training rooms; vendor spaces, eight luxury boxes, state of the art audio/visual scoreboard, parking and offices for the sport’s partner, the Bahamas Baseball Federation.

#Andre Rodgers was the first Bahamian to play in the major leagues.

#See Sports for more on this story