By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE National Sports Authority (NSA) has undergone a massive resurfacing of the infield at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, just in time for the staging of the 3rd Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.

Jeffrey Beckles, general manager of the NSA, revealed yesterday that the $800,000 project which began on August 6 should be completed on December 6, just in time for the big collegiate game on Friday, December 23.

“We made a decision that we needed to upgrade the infield surface here at the stadium,” said Beckles during a press conference for the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl. “The foundation was a challenge for us. It wasn’t so much what was on top of it, but what was underneath. So we escalated it down to about three feet, took out all of the stuff that was prohibiting good growth and maintenance of a good sort base.

“We came back with a brand new celebration Bermuda field. As you can see, the staff is still here working, the contractor is still here working. We’ve given ourselves one of the best opportunities, not just to upgrade the field, but to upgrade the value of our venue, whether it’s for American football or soccer, which we have now put ourselves in a very good position to attract quality soccer games over the next few years.”

Classic Golf Bahamas, a locally based company responsible for the construction of the Baha Mar Golf Course, the Albany Golf Course and now they are working on the Lyford Cay Golf Course, has been contracted to carry out the resurfacing of the infield.

“They have a very good reputation. The Albany project and what you have seen at Baha Mar satisfied us that we had a good Bahamian quality company that could do this work,” Beckles said. “This was sort of easy for them considering the dynamics of a golf course compared to just doing this course.

“So we’re happy to have a Bahamian company that is capable of doing a commendable job, such as what they are doing.”

Beckes said the difficulty was because the foundation for the infield was not done properly in the initial stage when the construction was done by the People’s Republic of China in donating the stadium to the people of the Bahamas. The Chinese were responsible for building the stadium.

“We realised that rather than continuing to spend money on top of it, trying to make it look good, we needed to give ourselves an opportunity to have a successful turf. Now we have grass that has a great chance of thriving for several years to come.”

Beckles said every capital expenditure that the NSA administration, headed by Lynden Maycock, has undertaken in the past two years can be justified.