The Lions Club of Grand Cayman is forging ahead with plans to refurbish the Lions Centre.
The annual Chamber of Commerce Expo is held at the Lions Centre. Expansion of the centre will mean more room for exhibitors. Photo: File |
Originally expected to break ground in the first quarter of 2007, the refit is now slated to begin in the second half of the year.
The club recently approved revised plans to turn the centre into a multi-purpose facility for hosting large-scale conventions, cultural shows and indoor sporting events.
The final design includes scope for the facility’s use as a disaster relief/post-storm shelter and command centre.
According to Alee Fa’amoe, the Lions’ Building Committee chairman, the club signed off on the plans in January.
He said the club chose the most comprehensive of the three designs worked up from the mid-range option by Las Vegas-based consultancy firm Lucchesi Galati Inc.
‘Even though the club went for the most expensive option, it was chosen because it offers the best set of capabilities to the country as a centre,’ Mr. Fa’amoe said.
The refurbishment means the centre will be capable of holding events of up to 2,000 people.
‘When finished, the Lions Centre refurbishment will give us the capacity to hold events that are five to eight times larger than any previously held here,’ he said.
The centre’s capacity will increase from 17,000 to 43,000-square-feet. This will include 17,000-square-feet of indoor exhibition space for large-scale conventions, flexible meeting rooms, VIP spaces, an on-site kitchen, improved acoustics, and flexible indoor sports courts for basketball, volleyball, badminton, squash, and netball.
The centre will also be fully handicap-accessible with ample visitor parking.
With the refit estimated to cost $7 million, the club’s Chairman Albert Anderson said that fundraising will be a stiff but achievable task.
‘Obviously, the club cannot look to carry the entire cost alone, given the scope of the project,’ he said.
‘We have already made some very positive contacts in this regard and will be enlisting monetary support for the refit, in due course’.
The club remains confident that it can raise the total.
‘We’ve a strong product to sell to the private sector,’ said Mr. Anderson. ‘It has to be recognised that we’ve got it to where it is now, which is a huge accomplishment for a voluntary organization.’
Mr. Fa’amoe said the club was currently trying to enlist the voluntary support of local economists to draft an impact study and would actively seek funding once a loan had been agreed. He confirmed that the redevelopment would mean the club putting in its own money, and attracting a significant amount investment from the public and the private sector.
Preliminary talks with banks have already been under way.
These discussions had centered on securing a sizeable loan and monthly repayment projections.
‘Government has expressed an interest in participating in the project since it will benefit the wider community,’ Mr. Fa’amoe said.
First Vice-President of the Cayman Islands Basketball Association Bryan Hunter confirmed his body’s backing of the project.
‘We would welcome the redevelopment of the Lions Centre to provide the Basketball Association and the rest of the island with a high quality sporting facility that could be used for the training of our national team and for international competition,’ he said.
Mr. Fa’amoe described these talks as productive and commented that all parties agreed the refit would allow the islands to attract the calibre of events they are not able to host. He said club officials will liaise with the Ministry of Tourism to gauge the impact of the redevelopment on tourism.
Mr. Fa’amoe said the plan is timely and will ultimately save government from having to purchase land to build a similar facility at a much higher cost.
The project is expected to take a year to 18 months to complete.
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