Last year, Saint Lucia’s Minister of Youth Development and Sports, Kenson Casimir, reiterated his call to end entertainment activities at sporting facilities across the island. He also announced plans to present a proposal to Cabinet for a National Entertainment Centre, aiming to reduce reliance on sports venues for such events.
In recent years, sporting facilities such as the Soufriere Mini Stadium, Phillip Marcelin Grounds in Vieux Fort, Sab Playing Field, Mindoo Phillip Park in Castries, and the Daren Sammy Cricket Grounds in Gros Islet have frequently doubled as entertainment venues for both national and private events.
During Monday’s pre-Cabinet briefing, the minister was asked whether he had reached a compromise on the coexistence of sports and entertainment at these locations.
For Casimir, sporting facilities hold deep personal significance. “I became a national athlete at the age of seven…when you get to being a minister, you jealously guard your sanctuary,” he said.
“So when you become a minister, and then you see a violation of that private space in terms of the way it’s used to have entertainment, you stop and ask yourself, why is it that we cannot identify a separate space?” he continued. “So you ask me if I’m satisfied? As a minister, I ventured to do something about what I know those people that are passionate about sport want to see. They want their sacred space to remain sacred.”
He expressed frustration over the damage left behind after entertainment events, including debris and tyre marks from vehicular traffic. “You then have to wait an inordinate amount of time before you can use the facility. It really hurts you as a sports minister and as an athlete, a footballer, when people turn their back and they just leave, and then you have to fend and find a way to deal with the issue.”
Casimir emphasised that his push to restrict entertainment use stemmed from his passion for sports. “But since then, we have endeavoured to develop as many sports facilities as possible to deal with that issue.”
He highlighted upgrades to alternative venues, including Gros Islet Playing Field, Mindoo Phillip Park, and others, providing options for event organisers. “We know that Darren Sammy is an international ground, so we have developed Gros Islet (playing field) to a standard that very soon anybody who wants to have an entertainment activity can use the Gros Islet playing field as an option… If we do have entertainment at any one of these grounds, we have options.”
However, he urged users to respect the facilities. “I have to appeal to those who come to use what we can describe as our facilities… don’t misuse it, and if you use it, put it back to where you found it. That’s all sportsmen and women in Saint Lucia have been begging for over all those years; they matter.”
Casimir also provided an update on the proposed national entertainment facility in his Gros Islet constituency. “We identified a spot in Beausejour [though] we’ve not officially earmarked that area,” he said. “But we do have a very nice design and I do plan to meet with the Beausejour residents’ association to get feedback on the repercussions of having those facilities built there. We do need a lot of discussion on the ground before we finally decide that this is what we’re going to do.”
