Discussions are currently underway between Cricket Fiji and the Suva City Council regarding the acquisition of a 5.9-acre parcel of land for the construction of a High-Performance facility and office for the national sporting body.
According to Cricket Fiji CEO Sitiveni Rokoro, the Suva City Council is presently evaluating the land before progressing to the next phase of the project.
“Suva City Council is currently doing the evaluation of the land before we work on the lease documents and get all the legal documents ready before we sign and get the formalisation in place,” he explained.
The initial groundwork, including land clearing and legal costs, will be covered by Cricket Fiji, with the regional cricket body expected to fund the construction of the facility through its facility development funding.
“So, once we get the paperwork done and sorted with Suva City Council, we might be able to ascertain the costs involved and to apply for that International Cricket Council funding,” he said.
He added that once they secured the lease documents, they will be better positioned to also seek commercial and government support.
Plans are also underway to upgrade existing cricket pitches around the country outside Suva.
“We have also established and planned upgrade cricket facilities around the islands; last week we send a grass carpet and some glue down to Komo to revive cricket on the island,” Rokoro shared.
“But apart from that we have also been upgrading pitches in the islands, this is so they can experience playing on a similar turf like the one here in Suva where they come and play during the Easter tournament and Super Eight tournament.”
