THE Torres-Palacios administration intends to completely renovate and upgrade the Oleai Sports Complex, including making renovations and upgrades to the Ada gym, the field turf, the lighting system, resurfacing the track, as well as constructing an international standard competition pool, a plunge pool, tennis courts, a new announcers and press box, new field seating, and vendor kiosks.
Expansion of the grandstand and the generator room are also possibilities, the administration said.
And so is turning the Civic Center into a central location for cultural and community events such as the annual Flame Tree Arts Festival.
The site will include 50 traditionally styled kiosks, booths, and pavilions; eight larger traditionally styled pavilions; one main activity pavilion; a main stage with lighting, dressing rooms, and a seating area; restrooms; parking areas; loading and unloading zones; pathways; natural landscaping; sculptural works; a canoe house and seafaring traditions program; and the renovation or rebuilding of the 500 Sails building.
In addition, the administration wants to construct a pedestrian walkway on Beach Road to connect the Civic Center cultural and community event site to the Oleai Sports Complex.
These and more are made possible by the $21.1 million grant awarded to the CNMI by the U.S. Department of Commerce-Economic Development Administration.
At a media conference in the conference room of the Ada gym on Monday, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said the grant will, among other things, help the CNMI prepare for the 2022 Pacific Mini Games, which will be hosted by Saipan.
“The last couple of years, we’ve been hit with disasters, and now, seeing our sports come back to life, it will make a big difference for our students, our kids,” he said.
But he also noted that there is a limited time to use the federal funds, and there is a lot of work that needs to be done, especially to prepare for the 2022 Mini Games.
Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, for his part, said, “The hard work continues… It’s going to be one of the most modern sports complexes [in the region]. There’s a lot more hard work [to be done], but we’re confident in the abilities and the contributions of all who are here today…. We all have a stake in this, and I’m very, very happy to see that there is a cultural component to it.”
He added, “We better not drop the ball on this $21.2 million.”
The administration at the same time acknowledged the various individuals behind the CNMI sports and cultural tourism enhancement project, namely Office of Planning & Development Director Kodep Ogumoro-Uludong, the governor’s senior policy adviser, Robert Hunter, Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, OPD lead planner Erin Derrington, Historic Preservation Office Administrator Rita Chong, Office of Grants Management Administrator Epi Cabrera, Northern Marianas Sports Association board president Jerry Tan, NMSA board member Laurie Peterka, Indigenous Affairs Office Director Roman Tudela, IAO program manager Cris Ogo, CNMI Arts Council executive director Parker Yobei, Carolinian Affairs Office Executive Assistant John Tagabuel, 500 Sails co-founders Pete and Emma Perez, as well as Stan Good and Mariano Iglesias from the U.S. Department of Commerce-EDA Technical Assistance Program.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios pose for a group photo with various government, community and sports officials on Monday following the official announcement of a $21.2 million grant awarded to the CNMI for its sports and cultural tourism enhancement project.
