Friday, July 13, 2007 Sports Commission targets ‘P30 million repair’ for track oval in Cebu’s only stadium By Marian C. Baring Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE city finally takes notice.
The Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC), which switched back to life yesterday after a few months of rest, is starting its new campaign with a tall order on top of its list—to rehabilitate the rubberized track oval of the Cebu City Sports Center.
The 400-meter, eight-lane track would cost the city millions for repair, whether high-end or the low class materials will be used.
“We know that it would be very expensive. Our duty then will be to look for sources who could help out with the funding, like the national government,” said CCSC head Jack Jakosalem.
In their meeting yesterday, the plight of the sports center’s track was brought to their attention.
“It (rubber) has obviously deteriorated. We can’t wait for injuries to happen, especially to our athletes, before we do something about it,” said commissioner John Pages.
The rubberized oval, which has long been suffering wear and tear, has already exceeded its lifespan of 10 years. The oval was built in 1994. It is almost four years past its lifespan and it being the most-used track oval in the country, the damage could not be prevented.
CCSC will be calling on sports center manager Ricky Ballesteros next week to discuss the cost for repairing the facility.
“It is really time to repair it. It will be very expensive,” Ballesteros said.
$48 per square meter
Last year, Ballesteros had the job quoted and P30 million came up.
Yesterday, he called up a contractor and it came down to just P18 million, based on the $48 per square meter price.
“There is low-end material, called the carpet-type. It is, however, not compatible with ours because we make use of the sandwich system. There is a layer of asphalt before the rubber,” Ballesteros said.
He will be calling up another contractor that uses a different brand of rubber to have a comparison of the figures.
He also said he will be asking experts to come over to check on the site. “They could give us more options. I also want to know if there is a chance that we do the repair by section and not all of it so we could save,” Ballesteros added.
Most damage
Ballesteros said the area that has the most damage is the starting block, which has become so soft. “The rubber shrunk and some parts of it formed holes that gathers water, causing more damage,” Ballesteros added.
Ballesteros said they tried doing preventive measures in the past, like patch ing up the spots that were heavily deteriorated, but they could not keep up.
Ballesteros was however proud to say that despite the state of the oval, it is so very well-maintained that it looks better than the other ovals from neighboring cities. (MCB)
