by Curlan Campbell
- Cost to host Carifta Championship 2024 will surpass EC$10 million
- Games to be held from 30 March to 1 April 2024
- CBI Unit presented $75,000 cheque; Grenlec presented $50,000 cheque
President of the Grenada Athletics Association (GAA) Conrad Francis has estimated that the cost to host the 51st edition of the Carifta Championship 2024 will surpass EC$10 million.
Carifta Games Local Organising Committee (LOC), chaired by Veda Bruno-Victor, is now working assiduously to ensure a successful hosting of the games as preparations are ongoing to accommodate over 600 athletes competing in U17 and U20 categories as well as 150 officials from 28 countries from 30 March to 1 April 2024.
On Wednesday, 17 January 2024, the committee received cheques from 2 corporate sponsors at the Grenada Olympic House. Grenada Citizenship by Investment Unit (CBI) presented a cheque for $75,000, followed by a cheque from Grenlec for $50,000.
In an interview with NOW Grenada, Francis said the projected cost includes resurfacing the synthetic track at Kirani James Athletics Stadium. “It’s costing us more than that. If you include the resurfacing of the track and services, about EC$3 million and several other expenses that we did not really add to our actual budget. So you can see how easy it can be costing Grenada as a whole, because together with corporate sponsors and Government, it should be way past the $EC10 million.”
The committee expects additional government and private sector support to meet its obligations.
In preparation for hosting the games, a company from Oregon has started work on resurfacing the synthetic track, which is expected to take 6 weeks to complete. In addition, the GAA is expecting a visit from the Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) from 22–24 January 2024.
Officials at the GAA are also eager to facilitate a visit from the production team from SportsMax, which is expected to be the official broadcast partner of the Carifta games.
“In addition to that, we have just signed a contract with Sports Max. They did the Carifta games in Jamaica in 2002. But this is the first time that they are actually coming into the Eastern Caribbean during a Carifta game,” Francis said.
CEO of SportsMax, Nicolas Matthews, has confirmed via telephone that his team will be conducting a site visit in Grenada to assess the infrastructure on the ground and meet with the organizing committee.
Meanwhile, the Marketing and Communications Officer of the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Unit, Rea Burke, reiterated the CBI’s commitment to supporting athletics in Grenada. “Grenada Citizenship by Investment Unit is filled with excitement and enthusiasm to be a platinum sponsor of the highly anticipated 2024 Carifta games. This symbolic gesture reaffirms our commitment to transforming the lives of the youth of the region and supporting the aspirations of Grenadian athletes. We believe in the power of sport to shape the future of our nation and, by extension, our region, and our sponsorship is a testament to that belief,” she said.
Jeffrey Neptune, Manager of Information Technology at Grenlec and former Carifta Bronze Medallist, echoed similar sentiments.
This will be the 3rd time Grenada will host the youth athletics championship, last held in 2016 after winning the bid to host the 2024 games 16 to 4 against Trinidad and Tobago.
Ive seen Grenada Athletic Associaton pull off carifta games before ive seen them pull off World relays just recently They have the capacity to do things right and do the right things i know they will conquer once more.