The Cayman Islands Football Association will have two additional fields by February next year, according to president Alfredo Whittaker.
Contractors are filling watery areas after weeks of clearing the site next to the CIFA Centre of Excellence in Prospect.
“It’s going extremely well,” Whittaker told the Cayman Compass on Wednesday, 26 Oct.
The two additional fields are a part of phase 2 of CIFA’s development plan for the centre.
“We expect to get the first ball kicked on those fields by February, if not before,” Whittaker added.
The CIFA president told the Compass the project has cost the association more than $7 million. CIFA already owns a single field outside its main office.
Whittaker stated that the existing field will be transformed into a mini-stadium, with amenities for athletes, along with bleachers that will seat almost 2,000 spectators.
“We expect to have dorms,” he said. “We expect to have a gym, a medical room and other facilities there at the Centre of Excellence.”
With football being the biggest sport locally – attracting hundreds of players at the youth and senior levels, Whittaker said there is a demand that needs to be met.
“It’s a big investment, but it’s something that we are going to own [along with] the football community of Cayman,” he said.
The additional fields being built will use artificial turf. Considering the issues with maintaining a natural field, Whittaker said, it’s a decision that had to be made.
“We had a couple of consultants view the position of the field and the recommendation was to go with artificial turf,” he said. “The maintenance of natural grass right now is… very difficult, especially with the type of weather that we experience here.”
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