Finishing Bermuda's National Sports Centre within Government cash constraints has been described as an “onerous challenge” by Sports Minister Randy Horton.

Addressing the National Sports Governing Bodies Conference at Bermuda College, Horton said he had told the Frog Lane venue's Board of Trustees that finance from outside sources had to be sought to complete the facility.

“You are aware that my Government reviewed the progress of the National Sports Centre shortly after taking office,” he said. “And we decided that the focus of development should change to complete both the southern and northern fields before proceeding with further work so that we had a sense of completion rather than what we inherited.

“We therefore set as our goals the development of a covered grandstand, (and) the completion of the northern fields, including the pavilion.”

Horton said, to date, the grandstand had been completed on schedule and the northern fields were complete except for the pavilion which had “encountered some construction problem issues” which he said he hoped would be resolved soon.

“The netball courts and a synthetic multi-purpose pitch are the remaining elements of our initial goals to be completed and it is our hope that this will be achieved in the not too distant future,” he said.

Addressing the cost of the entire project Horton said: “The challenge that Government faces, however, is finding the required financial resources to complete the remaining elements and, to this end, Government has initiated a full review of all construction expenditure at the Sports Centre to date so that we can examine and chart the way towards completion.

“There is no doubt that to date the total cost of all construction has been borne from Government's coffers alone and so with many capital plans underway it will be a challenge for us to find the financial resources to complete all of our capital plans within the parameters of the current debt ceiling that Government, by law, is obliged to stay within.”

Horton said he was therefore “challenging” the Trustees to “examine ways in which we can attract finances to complete the remaining phases without incurring Government debt that will have a negative impact on our debt ceiling.”

“The challenge is onerous, but one which I believe we will meet because of our will and our commitment to complete the National Sports Centre for the benefit it will bring to our entire community,” the Minister said.