Repairs at Oleai field to begin soon

The Oleai Sports Complex field will undergo repairs to prepare the facility for the CNMI’s hosting of the 2021 Pacific Mini Games and other regional competitions. (Jon Perez)

A government agency and a private company will help the Northern Marianas Sports Association in repairing the field at the Oleai Sports Complex.

NMSA executive director Tony Rogolifoi said that the Division of Agriculture of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources will provide equipment (tiller), while the Laolao Bay Golf & Resort will have their groundskeeper crew work on the field, including the laying out of new grass.

“It is better for the government and private sector to join hands in helping us with the repairs and maintenance of our sports facilities, especially here at the sports complex. Laolao’s grounds crew is among the best on the island,” Rogolifoi told Saipan Tribune.

“The sports complex will be the center of activity in the 2021 Pacific Mini Games and we really need to fix things here especially at the track. There’s also the [Micronesian Athletics Championships] next year, so we need to prepare the facility,” the NMSA official said.

He added that the plan is to level the field since it is uneven and plant a new type of grass. Although, the grass is not the same as the one used internationally, it is better than the old one.

“We really need to level the entire field and change the grass to be perfect for games and other use. We need to do this so that sports teams, local and visiting, could start using it. The 2020 Olympics is in Tokyo and foreign teams could train here,” said Rogolifoi.

The project would last for more than a month and will be done as NMSA waits for the Level II certification of the track facility from the International Association of Athletics Federations.

“We still have to wait for one more month to get the certification. I think the project would be done by December. We’re going to meet with all federations that want to use the field before we open the facility,” said Rogolifoi.

“We’re going to impose some charges, but only minimal fees to help us with the maintenance and other repairs that need to be done once it is again open to the public. The fees are reasonable,” he added.

The Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, the Northern Marianas Rugby Union, and a group of frisbee players are among those who want to use the field. The fees will be much lower for sports federations that are NMSA members.