According to Gomez, the funds are in place and plans have been finalized, and at this point they are still awaiting engineers from New Providence (Ministry of Works) to visit the site and determine specifically how the land should be used. The overall narrative in 2013 has been much the same. If the engineers can complete their task, we are informed that the project can then be fielded to tenders.
Gomez intimated that the engineers will also be looking at the placement of a Sports Facility in the same area. Prime Minister Christie in his visit to Current Island on June 23rd of this year, did make an ‘off the cuff’ remark to school aged students, that his government would be building a Sports Facility on the island, suggesting that an announcement could be in the making by the current Government.
The previous FNM administration had traveled to Eleuthera in 2008 with an announcement of plans to construct an indoor Gymnasium in Palmetto Point. At that time construction was expected to start in 2009. In August of 2011 teams from the Ministries of Public Works and Youth, Sports & Culture inclusive of Ministers, Architects, Undersecretaries, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, and Engineers, with completed plans, visited land in Palmetto Point where promises were made that a Gymnasium would be constructed (Read: Ministers Present Plans for New $2.5 Million Multi-Purpose Gymnasium in Eleuthera). Nothing more was seen of the promised Gym between that date and the general election of 2012, which ousted the administration.
To-date the poorly maintained grass track in Rock Sound remains the only available facility for official track and field events in The Eleutheras.
