The long-awaited astroturf surface and field pavilion should be added to the National Sports Centre (NSC) by next April.

Chairman of the NSC's Board of Trustees Dr. Gerard Bean announced yesterday that technical experts are due in the Island soon to begin work on both facilities which will be located on the North Field.

"The personnel will arrive next week and construction will start almost immediately. We are looking for a completion date before the CARIFTA Games and both those facilities will go a long way towards helping us stage those Games," said Bean at a Press conference at the NSC, adding that discussions had begun with Bermuda Track and Field Association (BTFA) officials regarding next Easter's athletics competition.

However, he was unable to say when the core centre - including indoor gymnasiums, a swimming and audio-visual centre - would get underway though that would add maximum value to the NSC, he noted.

"When we have that in place we will be able to host world-class cricket, any world-class tournaments or meets.

"We have a new minister and a new board. The new minister has a lot of enthusiasm and we want to see how that enthusiasm translates into a completion date," said Bean.

Regarding recent repairs which Hurricane Fabian had necessitated at the NSC's North Field to prepare for the World Rugby Classic, the chairman acknowledged "it's going to cost a considerable amount" though declining to give a specific figure.

"We have a damage report which we have sent to Government outlining the areas which were damaged. They will come back with the technical people to do the costing but all the lights have had to be fixed as well as the portable stands."

Staff from P&M Electrical Services could be seen working on the floodlights during the Press conference. Stephen Pacheco explained to The Royal Gazette that "every light on each of the eight poles had to be moved and spotted".

"Each light has a specific spot on the field that it's supposed to light up. The hurricane offset all of them so we had to come back and redo all of them," said Pacheco as his colleague, Ernie Theriault, was suspended overhead on a floodlight.

Meanwhile, Sports Minister Dale Butler and one of the Classic organisers, David Mutch, thanked all who contributed to the feverish clean-up mission at the stadium, enabling rugby to proceed.

"It's only been four weeks since the hurricane hit our Island and for those who looked at the field and the damage that was done, it's hard to believe that everything is going to go on virtually as normal.

"A lot of hard work went on behind the scenes. It's been a stellar effort. There's a tremendous amount of anticipation in the world of rugby for the Rugby Classic each year. Bermuda is its home and therefore it is particularly special to us to be able to make sure that the event takes place again this year," said Mutch.