Column: Ben Smith On National Sports Centre
[Opinion column written by Shadow Sports Minister and Opposition Leader Ben Smith]
The Government has repeatedly pointed out its commitment to investing in sport in Bermuda. Its own National Sports Policy describes the National Sports Centre as fundamental to Bermuda’s sporting development and our ability to compete internationally.
The answers to my recent Parliamentary Questions provide an opportunity to test that commitment.
I asked the Minister responsible for Sport for the condition of every facility, building, sporting surface, system and major asset at the National Sports Centre, together with the maintenance, repair or replacement required and the estimated costs.
His answers identify significant maintenance and replacement requirements at the Aquatics Centre, grandstand, field lighting and car park. At the Aquatics Centre, they identify mechanical problems with the chiller and future expenditure for pool tiling, the diving tower and electronic timing equipment.
Some works extend into future budget periods but the answers leave a number of questions unanswered.
What has the National Sports Centre identified as necessary, what funding has been requested from the Government, what has Government approved, and what has been deferred?
These distinctions matter because responsibility matters.
If the National Sports Centre has identified that an asset is approaching the end of its useful life and has requested the resources to replace it, yet resources have not been provided, that is a question of Government priority.
If funding has been provided but the work has not been completed, that is a question of execution.
If critical infrastructure reaches the point of failure without its condition or replacement needs having been identified, that is a question of planning.
Bermuda deserves to know which it is.
Failure has a cost. Maintenance cannot be judged simply by the cost of repairing something after it breaks. When problems with pool heating interrupt normal operations, how much revenue is lost? When lighting is unavailable, what rentals and events cannot take place? When facilities cannot accommodate competitions, training camps or international events, what economic opportunities does Bermuda lose?
The Minister’s answers provide information about the cost of repairs and replacement. What they do not quantify is the cost when facilities become unavailable. That cost should matter when the Government decides what projects receive funding and what can wait.
Deferring necessary maintenance may make one year’s budget look better, but if the eventual result is emergency repairs, closures, cancelled programmes and lost revenue, Bermuda ultimately pays more.
The Aquatics Centre changing facilities demonstrate why planning, funding and execution must work together. When permanent infrastructure reaches the point where normal use can no longer continue, temporary arrangements may be unavoidable. But temporary arrangements cannot become an adequate long-term replacement.
Changing facilities are not an optional extra. They affect everyday users, visiting athletes, accessibility, privacy and safeguarding. The standard cannot simply be whether a facility remains open. It must be whether the entire facility remains safe, appropriate and fit for purpose.
This also has direct implications for sports tourism. Bermuda competes with other destinations for international competitions, visiting teams and training camps. Those organisations have choices. They judge the entire experience not simply the pool, track or playing surface, but the changing facilities, lighting, timing systems, spectator areas, accessibility, safety and reliability.
Our athletes understand competition. We ask them to prepare properly, make sacrifices and pursue international standards but facilities are competing too.
If Bermuda wants our athletes to perform internationally and sports tourism to contribute more to our economy, the facilities supporting those ambitions must be properly maintained and funded.
This is not an indicator that the Government has spent nothing on sport. It has.The more important question is whether identified maintenance and replacement needs are receiving the priority necessary to protect the public investment Bermuda has already made.
Every Government faces competing demands for limited resources. That is precisely why budgets reveal priorities. If important maintenance has been identified but funding has been deferred, the Government should explain why and what it chose to prioritise instead.
We therefore need greater transparency about the National Sports Centre’s forward capital requirements. What has been identified, what has been requested, what has been funded and what remains outstanding. This is ultimately a test of planning, execution and priority. Assess before failure. Maintain before deterioration. Fund replacement before an asset reaches the end of its useful life.
Our athletes compete against the best in the world. Our facilities are competing for athletes, events and sports-tourism opportunities. We cannot demand international standards from our athletes while accepting anything less than proper planning, investment and execution for the facilities supporting them.
Government says sport is a priority. Then show us that it means what it says.
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