Ada Gym first to get needed facelift

The Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium will be the first facility to undergo repairs next year. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The repair and renovation work at the Oleai Sports Complex next year will begin at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium, according to Northern Marianas Sports Association executive director Tony Rogolifoi.

“We just met with the Public Assistance Office early last week and we were told that paperwork for the Ada Gym project is ongoing. They had the first pre-bid announcement last month and the second one either on Jan. 3 or 10,” Rogolifoi told Saipan Tribune.

PAO, which is under the Office of the Governor, is taking care of the documents needed to proceed with the project, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency coursed through the fund for the sports complex’s repairs to the former. FEMA approved $505,220 in public assistance funds for the sports facilities damaged by Typhoon Soudelor in 2015.

Rogolifoi said the repairs at the Ada Gym will make up the first phase of the project. Its entire flooring will be replaced, insulation of the ceiling will be repaired, and the interior walls will be repainted. Two new scoreboards, which were already shipped here last month, will be installed, while NMSA is still waiting for the new sound system.

“For now, the focus of the repair work will be the Ada Gym and at this early, we would like to inform the public that once the project starts, we will have to close the facility. We’re hoping that the Ada Gym repair work could start in the first quarter of the year,” Rogolifoi said.

Besides the Ada Gym, Rogolifoi said the restroom and conference room will also undergo a facelift, while the next stages of repair work will be done at the grandstand of the complex, the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield, and the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Ballfield.

As for the track and field facility, the NMSA official said it remains closed to the public although the repair work at the oval is done.

“We still need to work on the field for safety reasons. Tomorrow (today), we will have people bringing in an appropriate equipment for tilling. There are surfaces that are too hard to till,” said Rogolifoi, who thanked Laolao Bay Golf and Resort management and staff and the Department of Lands and Natural Resources’ Division of Agriculture for their assistance in the tilling process.

Repair work at the Oleai Sports Complex is needed as the CNMI prepares for hosting two major competitions, starting next year. Saipan will host the 2018 Micronesian Athletics Championships and the 2021 Pacific Mini Games.