Isaac Asiamah holding a portion of the grass during his tour of the Accra Sports Stadium

Sports Minister: Accra Stadium renovation on hold

Kweku Zurek Sports News Jun - 21 - 2017 , 09:57 2 minutes read

The proposed renovation of the Accra Stadium this month has been put on hold after pleas from stakeholders to allow the Ghana Premier League (GPL) season to end before the project begins.

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Isaac Asiamah, had earlier announced that a much-needed facelift of the massively corroded edifice would commence this June.

However, Mr Asiamah now says GPL stakeholders, including the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA), prevailed upon his outfit to commence renovation works after September.

"GHALCA came to me with GFA executives and we sat down, Accra Hearts of Oak also wrote to us that we should let them, at least, finish the league so that we can begin the project," Mr Asiamah told the Graphic Sports in an interview.

"So, based on the understanding that all of us reached we are holding on with the renovation now to ensure that the league is completed, so when it is completed we can move on with the renovations, so that is the agreement we have".

The Minister stated that per the terms of the agreement, the VVIP and media stand of the stadium would remain closed to spectators till renovations works were undertaken.

"As I told you we are going to do the renovation in phases, along the line we had a meeting with stakeholders. The agreement we have reached with stakeholders is that we are now closing the VVIP stands of the stadium, that is where we have massive corrosion because of the sea.

"For now to protect life and property and for our own safety to avoid any disaster the Ministry has decided that that VVIP area should be closed down, so it’s been closed down nobody is going to sit there to watch any tournament till we are done with the renovation of that facility".

Mr Asiamah also disclosed that the Ministry of Youth and Sports would install a fibreglass roofing to combat corrosion as part of the renovation of the Accra Sports Stadium.

"We are thinking of fibreglass renovation for the entire roofing, that is solid and can resist corrosion and everything, we are not just going to paint and leave it.

"We are going to ensure that we have a facility that can stand the test of time. When you have fibreglass it can last for about 50, 60 years without being damaged so that is what we are going to do”, Mr Asiamah stressed.