2014 NSF: C’River Assures On Completion Of Indoor Hall

The Cross River State
Government has assured that the Indoor Sports Hall of the UJ Esuene Stadium would be ready before the commencement of the 19th National Sports Festival in Calabar.
The state’s Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Patrick Ugbe told newsmen in Calabar that the ongoing construction work at the complex was progressing on schedule.
Cross River will host the 19th National Sports Festival tagged “Paradise Games’’ from November 23 to December 7.
“We are working with a time-line and there is no doubt that we will meet up.
“We will complete all the projects before the beginning of the festival and so, we will be ready before the start of the event,’’ Ugbe said.
According to him, the state is working very hard to ensure that the facilities are delivered on time to facilitate a successful hosting.
“The important thing is that you have a time-line that you are working with, and like I said, our time-line is clear and we are sure that the facilities will be delivered.
“The facilities are also very standard,’’ the commissioner said.
In terms of preparation of the state’s athletes for the games, the commissioner told newsmen that the athletes were training in other venues within the Calabar metropolis.
Ugbe said that the sporting facilities at other venues like the Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) and the Marina Resort, Calabar were being upgraded.
“We are putting sports facilities in CRUTECH; we are using UNICAL as well; we are using College of Education Akamkpa and the Marina Resort.
“So, the games are being spread across the city,‘’ he said.
According to Ugbe, the state’s athletes will strive to perform creditably at the games but will not do so at all cost.
“We are preparing our team to host very well and to do very well at the festival. If we win it, we will be happy.
“Our intention is to have a very credible performance at the festival devoid of any cheating.
“We are not inclined to such, so, we will do our best to ensure that we have a credible performance as we have been doing in previous festivals,” the commissioner said.