78 F
Cruz Bay
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesUVI SPORTS CENTER OFFICIALLY UNDER WAY

UVI SPORTS CENTER OFFICIALLY UNDER WAY

Ground was officially broken Friday for the new Sports and Fitness Center that will rise in the next year and a half on the foundation of the old Field House on the University of the Virgin Islands St. Thomas campus.
Standing within the steel-beam skeleton of the Field House, which will remain in place as the support for the new superstructure, UVI President Orville Kean called to mind other remains of sports arenas — the Coliseum of Rome, the Arawak ball courts of St. Croix. He said the new $10 million facility will enhance UVI's ability to educate its students.
Gov. Charles Turnbull, whose previous job was teaching history at UVI, reiterated remarks made earlier in the day at the Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. Referring to the territory's financial woes, he said he learned on a recent trip to the nation's capital that federal authorities "know about our economy. They know the rest of the nation is prospering and we are not. They know we have not used our resources as well as we ought to."
The sports facility, which will house a wood-floor playing court and seating for 2,500 spectators, is being undertaken with about $7 million in federal funding. Kean said the university is looking to the V.I. Legislature to provide additional funding for "the building and with regards to the programs that will be housed" in it, the V.I. Independent reported. Sen. Allie-Allison Petrus, representing Senate President Vargrave Richards, pledged the legislature would support UVI.
Kean chairs the territory's half of a working group recently assembled by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the V.I. government to develop plans for social and economic recovery, the Independent said.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.