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Joined: Oct 1999
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Marty Offline OP
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In September of 2013 the old Belize City Center was torn down with great hope and anticipation for the start of the construction of a new first class facility that would serve the needs of Belize City residents. After waiting for two and a half years, Belize city residents will shortly see that promised construction.

A few days ago work teams began to move into the space which was left after the old structure was torn down and the groundwork has commenced for the construction. After signing a contract on October 8, 2015, JVCA Medina's Construction Ltd/International Environments Ltd. began the work. Valued at BZ$32,940,261.34 the new facility will include civil works and FIBA certified equipment.

In a release from Belize Infrastructure Limited (BIL) it states that: "The new Belize City Center Arena and Cultural Complex design will qualify for world championship women's U-21 and U-19 world championship men and women events. There will be three (3) interior practice basketball courts, and one (1) professional center court. The design allows for designated seating for up to 4000 for games and 5000 for indoor entertainment events such as conventions, concerts and other sporting events such as boxing and volleyball. Seats are individual and are numbered by rows. The design also includes post game rooms, media rooms, administration room and more concessions space. The new Belize City Center will be fully air conditioned and fully handicapped accessible. The facility will be equipped with stage and event performance space and back of house facilities. The size and careful design of the building footprint and structural placement allows for a broader range of vehicles that will now be able to park under the building. The interior function of the building was completed in accordance with FIBA standards and in conjunction with approved consultancy input. Exterior design allows for multiple plazas to accommodate recreational sports and parks, including two (2) outdoor basketball courts, one (1) 5 on 5 soccer field, skateboard parks just to name a few. It caters to hosting outdoor entertainments with Security features, Police and Ambulance Zones.

Construction has already commenced and is expected to go for 24 months and is in fulfillment of the UDP Government's pledge for the construction of a state of the art sporting facility in Belize City.

The Guardian

=========================

Belize City Center going up

The frame for the Belize City Center is starting to take shape and excitement rises with every beam that is erected next to the BelCan Bridge.

Belize City basketball players have been homeless since September of 2013 when the old Belize City Center was torn down. The only "reliable" venues for hosting basketball competitions since have been the Birds Isle and Belize Elementary Auditorium. Without trying to be ungrateful to a welcoming host, Birds Isle would not qualify to host any mid-level league anywhere else in the world. At any time now, someone may fall through that court. It does have sentimental appeal so maybe the National Institute of Culture and History should look into establishing it as a landmark. The Elementary Auditorium is basically a hot box trapped inside a microwave oven. One of the three point line is further than the other and most ballers swear that one of the rims is higher than the next. Apart from that, the facility provides a decent playing experience. However, Belize City ballers are ready to go back home.

JVCA Medina's Construction Ltd/International Environments Ltd. signed contracts with the Belize Infrastructure Limited (BIL) on October 8, 2015 and in November of 2015, work teams began to move into the City Center compound to get the project off the ground. According to BIL, the new Belize City Center Arena and Cultural Complex design will qualify for world championship women's U-21 and U-19 world championship men and women events. There will be three interior practice basketball courts and one professional center court. The design allows for designated seating for up to 4000 for games and 5000 for indoor entertainment events such as conventions, concerts and other sporting events such as boxing and volleyball. Seats are individual and are numbered by rows. The design also includes post game rooms, media rooms, administration room and more concessions space. The new Belize City Center will be fully air conditioned and fully handicap accessible. The facility will be equipped with stage and event performance space and back of house facilities. The size and careful design of the building footprint and structural placement allows for a broader range of vehicles that will now be able to park under the building. The interior function of the building was completed in accordance with FIBA standards and in conjunction with approved consultancy input. Exterior design allows for multiple plazas to accommodate recreational sports and parks, including two outdoor basketball courts, one 5 on 5 soccer field and skateboard parks just to name a few. It caters to hosting outdoor entertainments with security features, police and ambulance Zones.

The value of the contract is BZ$32,940,261.34 and construction is expected to be completed by December of 2017.

The Guardian

Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
Marty Offline OP
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Construction begins on new Belize City Center





Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
Marty Offline OP
OP Offline
City Centre

By Abdulmajeed K Nunez

32 million fi wah city centre
Holy smokes we must all be in a drunken stooper!
I wonder how they will share the cutbacks?
Will GoB come up again off the people's backs?
Isn't this the horse before the cart?
Is it that our priorities are warped?
Truth is that centre could be built for a few million
But half the money will be spend on consultation
How was this bid given to Medina Construction?
Are there any relations between Medina and the big man?
Is he being rewarded for his helping UDP win the elections?
I did not see any bid out on this one
Did anyone?

Belize has no sporting programs
There is no single event that would draw 5,000
Except for a PUDP rally or convention
So why the building before the programs?
Belize does everything in reverse
If the PM declares everyone would take a bath before putting on undies
When the PM declares all cronies become zombies
When the PM declare you all forgot KHMH lost thirteen babies
If the PM declares everyone clean their ass before they defecate
When the PM declared Greg Cho was rejected to nomination to the senate
If the PM declares everyone would give up their birthright
Since the PM declared the cane farmer want a raise on sugar price
Since the PM declared the unions been sacrificed
Since the PM declared the Mayan have gotten another judgement in their fight
They will not give up their birthright

We're spending 32 million
When to fix the Bliss it would only cost five million
To get proper training for the hostel staff it would cost five million
To start a non-sporting youth program it would cost five million
To finish Marion Jones it would cost five million
The fact in issue to construct a multi- complex in Florida it only cost five million
To fix the MCC it would cost less than five million
To do a housing project for Port would cost less than five million
This would include drainage and septic for everyone

Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
Marty Offline OP
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Civic Center ready by December

A state of the art sporting arena- the first of its kind in the country, is slowly taking shape at the foot of the Belcan Bridge. The Belize Civic Center was demolished in September of 2013, shortly after the Prime Minister had announced that a new arena would be constructed at the site to replace the old dilapidated structure which had seen better days.

It was not until two years later in October of 2015 that work commenced on the ground to construct the new building. Through a joint partnership between Medina's Construction and International Environments (I.E), work has been going according to plan for the two year construction of the 32 million dollar facility. Very little has been said about the structure but it is quite evident that from an outsider's view point that it is quite a remarkable building that is being constructed.

This week, the Guardian had the opportunity to visit the site and we found out that within the next 6 months the building will be complete and when it is, it will be the most sophisticated sports arena in the entire country.

We spoke to representatives of I.E. who gave us a tour of the new structure. According to them, the building is a prefabricated fire rated galvanized reinforced steel structure. This means that it will not be subject to rust and will be able to withstand an intense fire under the building for at least two hours before the structure becomes unsound. While the primary function of the building will be a sporting arena, it will also duplicate as a hurricane shelter.

The seating capacity as a sports arena will be 4,500 persons but as a hurricane shelter at its maximum capacity it would be able to accommodate as many as 7 thousand persons. As such the building was designed to be self-contained, having water reservoirs both in front of the building as well as having water tanks on the upper portion of it. The building will also have standby generators which along with the water will be able to, at maximum consumption be able to sustain 7 thousand persons for 5 days. Being designed as a hurricane shelter, the structure will also be equipped with 8 sets of bathroom facilities which will be able to process waste to be pumped into the existing sewer system in the city. Also within the design the structure will be able to withstand hurricane force winds with gusts of up to 145 miles per hour.

While the hurricane shelter will be a secondary function, the main features of the building will be to accommodate sporting and concert events. As mentioned before there will be 4,500 individual bucket seats installed and along with that type of attendance, under the building as many as 80 vehicles will be able to be parked. An additional 190 vehicles will also be accommodated in the compound with a total of 270 vehicles being able to park in the facility. Inside the building there will be a FIBA certified basketball court which will double as three practice courts as well as be able to be transformed to host all manner of sporting events like boxing, UFC fights, volleyball, tennis and even indoor football. A public announcement system will also be put in place along with 4 media booths and 6 media platforms for cameras to be placed at various angles. There will also be a fiber optic system in place for broadcasting events. These event will also have lighting for high definition broadcasting. Along with these lights will be catwalks above the arena for service personnel to move and manipulate the lighting system.

From a revenue generating standpoint, the building will also feature concession areas as big as 80 feet by 15 feet along with smaller areas. There will also be a VIP area elevated above the arena for 'owner boxes.' Other amenities for the court will be a retractable seats to allow for court side spectators as well as an indoor stage measuring 30 feet by 50 feet complete with sound and lighting systems. This will be able to be assembled inside the arena.

Since the mammoth of a building will be able to house by far the largest number of persons than any other sporting arena, there are concerns over the cooling system. I.E. reps say that there is no concern there as the building is fully insulated and will have a fully functioning air conditioning system that will circulate fresh air in the building. Added to that there will be a vent system that will be able to extract smoke out of the building in the event of an indoor fire to prevent smoke from being trapped inside the building. This will be complemented by a fire alarm system as well.

The inside of the arena will be the main attraction of the complex but it is not be the only area of sport-oriented features. Outside there will be a synthetic track, a small football pitch as well as two outdoor basketball courts and a skate boarding area. At the riverside a boat-landing will be constructed to allow for persons to attend sporting events via the river. As part of an integration into the neighborhood, the two adjoining streets will be paved and there will be provisions put in place to integrate neighbors into business partnerships with the ultimate managers of the building.

Coming at a cost of 32 million dollars, on average there are 70 employees working on the construction with an average salary of $250 per week. Along with these employees there are 5 international consultants on site that supervise the assembly of the building. Contrary to what has been rumored there is no cost overrun on the building, a much talked about 12 million dollars budgeted for the building is actually a disbursement which forms part of the grander 32 million dollar price tag.

The Guardian



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