Nov. 15 start date for track resurfacing

Resurfacing work at the Oleai Sports Complex track and field facility may start next week. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The long wait for the resurfacing work at the Oleai Sports Complex’s track and field facility may soon be over.

Northern Marianas Sports Association executive director Tony Rogolifoi disclosed that Tang’s Corp. has informed the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. that they may start the project on Nov. 15. Rogolifoi said the company is just waiting for a few more documents from its subcontractors and once they are in, Tang’s Corp. will request for a notice to proceed. Rogolifoi added they will make a formal announcement on the closure of the facility before the resurfacing work begins.

“By May next year, if the weather will cooperate, the project may be completed,” Rogolifoi said in an interview with Saipan Tribune yesterday.

The condition of the Oleai track and field facility started to deteriorate nearly three years ago and it was only last year that negotiations for funding sources materialized through NMSA and its officials, NMHC, and the Marianas Visitors Authority.

The project costs nearly a million ($990,000) with majority of the funds coming from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through NMHC’s Community Development Block Grant, while MVA has allotted $250,000 for the resurfacing work as part of the its sports tourism program.

The Oleai track has to be fixed to regain its Level II certification International Association of Athletics Federations and to prepare the facility for the CNMI’s hosting of the Pacific Mini Games in 2021.

Rogolifoi said the track is just one of the facilities that will undergo a facelift in the next five years.

“We will continue to push for the improvement of our facilities as we have to be ready for the Pacific Mini Games. We will work on these projects to capitalize on the support we are getting from the governor and other government officials and agencies,” the NMSA official said.

Next on NMSA’s priority list is the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium, while the Francisco “Tan Ko’ Palacios Ballfield, the Miguel “Tan Ge” Basa Pangelinan Softball Field, and the Oleai grandstand will also undergo repairs.

Funds from Federal Emergency Management Agency through the Capital Improvement Projects for the repair works at the gym and the baseball and softball field are already available according to Rogolifoi, but NMSA has to find matching funds for the projects to push forward. FEMA will cover 90 percent of the cost (nearly $500,000), while NMSA has to shoulder the remaining 10 percent.

“Right now, we have to find about $50,000 and we will try to ask help from our lawmakers,” the NMSA executive director said.

As for the extension of the grand stand at the Oleai track, Rogolifoi said NMSA will have to apply for a new grant next year.