AC recall stalling completion of Sports Hall upgrades

The country’s premier indoor sporting facility, the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) on Homestretch Avenue, has been out of commission for quite some time.
Back in 2022, rehabilitation work was announced for the venue, encompassing the installation of air conditioning units, bucket seats and new floors. However, estimated timeline for the completion of those works, costing in excess of $200M, has long expired.
In a recently invited comment, Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr. gave reasons why the venue has not yet been completed.

“We had a challenge on the recall of the ACs. So, the company that manufactured the Ac’s, they wrote to us to say that they were recalling the Acs. So, that was the delay,” he explained. “They’re sending us new ones, they’re already being manufactured right now,” the Sport Minister disclosed to media operatives.
Ramson Jr. went on to share about contracting woes. “We had to terminate the previous contract because of the delay. They were taking too long, and we’re a lot firmer now. Now that I’ve had the experience with some delinquent contractors, I’ve taken firmer decision about how I deal with them,” he explained.
“But we terminated the previous contract. We went out to tender already, the contract’s already awarded. Those bits of equipment are going to be on their way soon; so, once they get here, it’s time to finish up the AC,” he explained.
When the AC issue is rectified, the Sport Minister shared, the remaining projects would need to be completed before the Sports Hall can reopen its doors.
“Because we are finishing up the exterior right now, we’ve already chosen the flooring for not the court, but for the section where they have all the teams, washrooms, and the entrance. It’s the international type of flooring, the epoxy type. I examined it myself, so I’m satisfied.” Ramson Jr divulged.
“When we move into the next phase, it’s not going to be a very complicated phase, which is, to get the stands. So, we’ve already started to get in touch with the manufacturers, to give them the dimensions for them to start to send us how the seating arrangements would look. Once we get done with our other projects, we can then put in our order for that,” he said in addressing the installation of the bucket seats.
The Sports Hall was re-opened back in 1997, and as such, the ongoing upgrades are aimed at modernizing the facility.