Oleai track nears completion; Ada Gym repairs to start soon

A peeled off portion of the flooring of the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium is shown here during a game in the Diaz youth caging yesterday. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Good news.

The repair works at the Oleai Sports Complex’s track and field facility is on schedule, while the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium will undergo the needed facelift soon.

Tony Rogolifoi, executive director of Northern Marianas Sports Association, which is in charge of the management and maintenance of the two facilities, said that the contractor doing the resurfacing work at the track is just waiting for the asphalt to dry so it can proceed with the pouring of the rubberized surface.

“I was told it will take up to 20 days to dry up the asphalt. They poured it in early this month and if I am not mistaken, we’re on the ninth day (yesterday). After that, they will begin working on the rubberized surface. The materials are all on island, so if the weather will cooperate, we will have the track back third or last week of May,” Rogolifoi said in an interview with Saipan Tribune yesterday.

After the rubberized surface is put into place, it has to be dried up, too and cleaned/flattened, while markings will be done last. The track will retain its reddish color.

As for the Ada Gym, Rogolifoi said they are just waiting for the project specification from the contractor and they are hoping to receive it before the month ends.

The NMSA executive director said the flooring of the gym will be replaced with an appropriate one—unlike the previous materials that were for household use. Materials for the new flooring are available in Guam, so it will be much easier for the contractor to bring them to Saipan.

Besides the floor, the dilapidated scoreboard will also be replaced with a new one, while leaks on the roofs will be fixed. The offices at the Ada gym will also be renovated with the floors and ceiling to undergo repairs/replacements. Completion of these improvements will take three to four months, according to Rogolifoi.

Funding for the resurfacing works at the Oleai track and the renovation of the Ada gym both came from local and federal agencies and improvements are being done in preparation for the CNMI’s hosting of the Pacific Mini Games for the first time.

The quadrennial meet will come to Saipan in 2021 and the Pacific Games Council would like to see improvements from the various sports facilities on island a few years before the competition is held here.

Last year, Council president Vidhya Lakhan and executive director Andrew Minogue had a three-day visit on Saipan to check the facilities and talk to the people involved in bringing the Mini Games to Saipan. They are expected to meet with NMSA officials and other stakeholders in December in Vanuatu to get updates on the Commonwealth’s preparation for the hosting of the 2021 event.