A former Western Regional Director of Sports has advocated the construction of additional facilities like drinking bars and night clubs to be attached to stadiums in Ghana.
According to Beresford Ogbarmey Amui, without such “event centers”, Ghana will continue to struggle in maintaining stadium facilities.
Speaking on Onua Sports Center on Onua FM on Wednesday, September 18, the sports instructor said it is high time the country’s stadiums were attached with event centers to rake in more revenue to cater for maintenance.
“When you visit the Surulere stadium in Nigeria, for instance, it has night clubs, drinking bars and so many things and even with that they are suffering,” he told host Bismark Kwaku Sarpong.
Making the stadium solely for football purposes, he argues, will not yield the needed money to maintain all other facilities attached.
He said even staff at stadiums are casual and so will be difficult to have the maintenance work done as required.
Describing the country’s stadiums as “football parks”, the veteran sports administrator said the original plan to have hotels even attached to accommodate patrons of other social events have been discarded.
Mr Ogbarmey Amui was reacting to the recent decision by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to relieve the Director-General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Dr Dodson Numekevor, of his role due to the poor pitches, particularly that at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
He said the decision was wrong as the sports administrator had little time and resources to turn the country’s stadium pitches around.
He asked the President to come again on his decision, insisting that it will right if only Dr Numekevor has committed another offence not known by him.
