A new sports facility is coming to Camana Bay.
The Central Planning Authority recently approved plans for a football field, 710-square-foot pavilion, six training areas, 100-metre track and 78 parking spaces to be located on Jasmine Bodden Way, next to the National Gallery.
"This idea behind this new facility is to support the growing demand for sports fields by providing more space for people to play and train," Dart Senior Property Manager Jeffrey Wight said.
The FIFA-rated sports field will be suitable for higher-level competition, and plans call for it to be surrounded by six turfed areas for fitness training, including three large training areas and three smaller areas. The sports facility is an expansion of the Camana Bay Sports Complex, connected by a pathway under the Esterley Tibbetts Highway. The practice and training grounds will be open for public use informal recreation and sports practices.
The existing sports field next to CIS is heavily used throughout the year. CIS uses the field exclusively on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during the school year, and the field is used extensively by the wider community on non-school days. Non-profit clubs like Sunset Football Club call the field home on various evenings and weekends as they hold training sessions for multiple age groups. The field operates at nearly full capacity with virtually no availability on weeknights. Other groups like Gaelic football, rugby, field hockey, flag football and other football clubs also use the facility on a regular basis.
"Clubs and organisations have been approaching us for a while now looking for more time on the fields. We hope this new facility will help meet the community's needs," Wight said.
The pitch is purposefully sited to not be in direct alignment of any existing residences, according to the planning application, which includes details on the planned state-of-the-art lighting system that restricts light spill to 150 feet from the source, the first of its kind in Cayman.
This article was published in the July/August 2024 print edition of Camana bay Times.
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