The Marion Jones track, installed in 2012, is cracking up and while there is some remedial work that can be done to salvage portions of it, eventually, the whole track will need to be replaced. Director of the Sports Council, Ian Cal told News Five that the replacement will cost millions of dollars but that Belize will likely ask for assistance with that through diplomatic ties.

Ian Cal, Director, National Sports Council


"What I was told was that from the onset from Marion Jones [stadium] was built and that place remained closed for over a year, I guess, or two, without any access to people. People didn't access that stadium, that facility. And that is one of the issues. The track has to be used; people have to be running on it. And if it is not used, just like any other facility, it deteriorates faster. And it's outdoors, so the issue with the track is it is cracking. And it's not only that it is cracking, but the way it was built, the foundation moves, so it adds to the issue that the track is cracking. So what we are trying to do right now is to alleviate it by closing those cracks. However, we must be realistic - that track, I would give it two to three more years, maybe even less than that and that will be gone. Then we would need to start to lobby from now to ensure that we get a new track for Marion Jones [stadium]."

The current track costs two million dollars and was funded by the Government of Venezuela.


Channel 5