MoBay mayor commits to date for Jarrett Park completion

WESTERN BUREAU:

Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon says restoration work at the western city’s iconic Jarrett Park, one of several sporting facilities ravaged by Hurricane Melissa last October, will be completed by the end of the 2026-27 financial year.

Speaking with The Gleaner following the St James Municipal Corporation’s (StJMC) City Hall 2026 Municipal Budget Presentation at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre in St James, Vernon said a new management team has been appointed to assess what is needed to transform Jarrett Park, one of the city’s premier sporting venues.

“Jarrett Park is an important venue for us, and while we have two stadiums, they serve two different tiers of purpose. The Catherine Hall Stadium [in Montego Bay’s Catherine Hall area] is for bigger games, and it is more expensive to use, but Jarrett Park is for the community, and that is why we are investing in Jarrett Park so that the community can have good access to a quality recreational area,” said Vernon.

“We have a new management team in place, and they are working on a proposal to get further funding to transform the space. We have prioritised Jarrett Park, and we want to ensure that the repair of Jarrett Park is completed within this financial year, not the new one that has been presented in the budget, but this financial year,” Vernon added.

“Jarrett Park is part of the list of projects that are under way as opposed to the ones that should come in the 2027-2028 budget.”

He was referring to the $2.8-billion budget that the StJMC, of which he is chairman, intends to spend during the 2027-28 financial year. An outline of the budget was presented during the meeting.

Located along Cottage Road in Montego Bay, Jarrett Park has a seating capacity of 4,000. The property was purchased in 1957 by the StJMC, then known as the St James Parish Council, fulfilling the need for a permanent recreational venue for the city’s residents.

The venue hosted regional first-class cricket matches from 1965 to 2001 and, in 1976, staged the first-ever Women’s Test match between the West Indies and Australia. Over the years, it has also been used by notable footballers, including former Reggae Boyz captain Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore, and more recently, served as the home ground for Montego Bay United after Hurricane Melissa damaged the club’s official base at the Catherine Hall Sports Complex.

The work to be carried out at Jarrett Park includes repairs to the stadium’s pylons and rehabilitation of the spectator stands and commentary box.

During the meeting, Vernon noted that questions from residents about Jarrett Park’s restoration represented just one of several concerns relating to projects across the city.

“Some residents have asked about the status of the market roof at the Charles Gordon Market, Jarrett Park’s restoration, the Byron Leslie Market’s restoration, plus the local craft market, the Catherine Hall Stadium, the Railway Lane and River Bay Road rehabilitation, the Croydon in the Mountains property (in the Catadupa community), and the Bogue Industrial Estate infrastructure works. I must assure this room that those works have begun,” said Vernon.

“These projects are absent from the 2027-2028 capital lines because they are actively being executed and funded within this fiscal year. They are safely moving through the procurement stage, though that has been challenging, and are on track for completion before this budget cycle closes.”