The football fields in Grand Cayman have lit up for the first time in almost two years following installation of new floodlights.
Work began late last month on the lights, which have been down since they were damaged in Tropical Storm Grace in August 2021.
National track coach Kenrick Williams said he is pleased to see the lights back up and running.
“It has been helpful to have the lights back on. It really helps with our training and it also helps with our track meets that go late in the night,” he said, noting that he, along with athletes and spectators, were “grateful for the powers-that-be who went over and beyond to get the lights back”.
Speaking with the Compass in October last year, Kurt Hyde, Department of Sports director, said he had planned for the lights to be installed by the first quarter of 2023.
While the first quarter ended in March, Hyde said he appreciated the public’s patience as proper measures needed to be taken, which caused additional delays.
“A lot of people didn’t quite understand what was involved because of the fact that it was a complete retrofit,” he said. “It was scrapping the old lighting and placing in a new lighting system.
“We had to make sure we did our research, got our specifications correct, had to go through the procurement process and now we are here,” he explained, adding that it wouldn’t have been possible without support from the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage.
Many sporting associations, including football, are now playing on the pitches that are beaming with 216 LED lights throughout the three sporting grounds.
The Annex, the Ed Bush Stadium and the Truman Bodden Sports Complex all received new lights- a project that cost the government an estimated $400,000, according to Hyde.
“It gives me great satisfaction to reach this stage,” Hyde said. “We have the latest technology, we have control where we can turn the lights down to a certain percentage, turn different poles on and off…and this is all to save energy.”
In addition to the ability to control the new lights, they are more energy efficient and will save more than 50% on electricity costs in comparison to the old floodlights, and they will also last longer, according to Hyde.
Related Videos
