$21.2M grant is approved to rebuild Oleai sports complex

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded the CNMI a $21.2 million grant to rebuild the Oleai Sports Complex and expand it by also creating an adjacent cultural events site.

This EDA grant, which is expected to create 480 jobs, was announced last Friday, and Gov. Ralph DLG Torres prefaced his speech at the presentation of his administration’s expenditure plan for the CNMI’s share of the American Rescue Plan Act funding by announcing the grant award.

In the news release that announced the EDA grant, it quoted Torres as saying: “We are tremendously grateful to the EDA as this funding assistance my administration applied for will provide for a state-of-the-art sports complex and a cultural events site and will greatly benefit our local athletes as we position the CNMI to grow our sports tourism and cultural tourism industries.

“The sports complex, which will be one of the most advanced in the region, will make the CNMI a highly-attractive training destination for our tourism industry and allow for the hosting of large-scale regional sport events. The cultural event site will be a dedicated place for an annual calendar of local, regional, and international cultural and arts events within the Pacific, as well as a venue to foster entrepreneurial activities in the arts and cultural sector. Most importantly, it will be a place on the central part of our island to encourage everyone in our community to get fit and live a healthy lifestyle,” he added.

Torres said this award is the culmination of nearly a year and a half of work by the Torres-Palacos administration since Super Typhoon Yutu. “I extend a sincere thanks to my staff from the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs and Office of Planning and Development, for taking the lead on this, and to the great EDA staff who provided important technical assistance along the way. With this award, we are positioned to build back an important part of our island community and make it better than it has ever been before.”

“Tourism is the primary economic activity in the Marianas, but tourism can take many forms,” said Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP). “Today’s grant to build a sport and cultural center will help us diversify the kinds of visitors we can attract to the Marianas and help us offer more diverse experiences for visitors to our islands. The new complex will, also, give our own residents new opportunities to stay fit and be competitive.”

The Oleai Sports Complex sustained widespread damage after Super Typhoon Yutu in October 2018 and remains largely unfixed.

Dennis Alvord, acting assistant secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, acknowledged that Yutu was devastating to the CNMI economy. “This project will support the Commonwealth’s ongoing recovery by providing resources needed to complete the redevelopment of the Oleai Sports Complex, generating investment, creating job opportunities and revitalizing the tourism industry,” Alvord said.

He was echoed by Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo, who said, “The infrastructure funded with this investment will support the Northern Mariana Islands as it prepares to host the 2021 Pacific Mini Games, as well as other events in the years ahead.”

The EDA news release said the $21.2 million grant will support growth of the region’s tourism economy. “The travel and tourism industry is vital to America’s economic recovery and the Biden Administration is working round the clock to support its growth and success,” said Raimondo.

This project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-20), which provided EDA with $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance Program funds for disaster relief and recovery for areas affected by Hurricanes Florence, Michael, and Lane, Typhoons Yutu and Mangkhut, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and other major natural disasters occurring in calendar year 2018, and tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 2019, under the Robert T. Stafford Act. (PR)