Favorable review for Mini Games venues

The CNMI received a positive review from the Pacific Games Council’s evaluation report on the proposed venues for the 2017 Mini Games.

The report was distributed to the 22 Pacific Games Associations (PGAs) on July 4 and during the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association monthly meeting last Thursday, NMASA president Michael White told local sports officials that the report came out favorably to the CNMI.

White said Council president Vidhya Lakhan and executive director Andrew Minogue were impressed with the CNMI facilities. The two Council officials visited Saipan late last month and stayed here for four days to tour the various facilities the CNMI proposed for the 2017 Mini Games and meet with sports and government officials.

Saipan was Lakhan and Andrew Minogue’s last stop before making the evaluation report. They went to Nauru first in May and then proceeded to Vanuatu in the same month.

Other details of the evaluation report were not discussed and it was only made available for the PGAs. However, White said the biggest challenge for the CNMI’s two competitors will be the building of new facilities.

Nauru has no stadium, that can accommodate the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics competition and is proposing to build one and complete it by January 2016, according to its bid documents.

Vanuatu has the old Korman Stadium, which was build more than 20 years ago and hosted the 1993 Mini Games but will need a major facelift.

The CNMI has the IAAF and OAA-certified Oleai Sports Complex track and field facility, which is the proposed venue for football and the opening and closing ceremonies. Inside the complex are two baseball fields and the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium, which is now undergoing renovation.

The Commonwealth has other facilities which will only require minor repairs and most of these were used in the 2006 Micronesian Games and other regional tournaments the CNMI hosted in the past 10 years.

Both Nauru and Vanuatu are aiming to build several other venues, however, according to White these nations will rely on the generosity of foreign governments to construct the proposed facilities.

The winning bid will be announced on Sept. 4 during the PGAs general assembly in Noumea, New Caledonia. Twelve votes from the 22 PGAs is needed to win the hosting rights for the 2017 Mini Games. If no nation has the majority, a second round of voting will take place between the Top 2 vote getters in the first round.

The evaluation report will help PGAs decide which country is ready to host the Mini Games six years from now. The three nations can submit supplementary documents or reports for their respective bids between now and until the selection day. Then on Sept. 4, the CNMI, Nauru, and Vanuatu will be given 30 minutes each to present their respective bids