Yenagoa – The Chief Executive Officer of Monimichelle Sports Facilities Construction Nigeria Limited, Ebi Egbe, has urged the Bayelsa State Government to ensure that investments in sports infrastructure for the forthcoming National Sports Festival are durable, sustainable and built to world-class standards.
Egbe said the hosting of the National Sports Festival should be viewed as a catalyst for long-term sports development rather than merely an event to be successfully staged.
He stressed that the true measure of success would be the lasting infrastructural legacy left behind after the festival, noting that quality facilities should continue to serve generations of athletes and sports enthusiasts.
According to him, modern sports infrastructure should consistently nurture young talents, strengthen grassroots sports development, attract national and international competitions, create employment opportunities, stimulate sports tourism and contribute significantly to the state’s economy for decades.
The sports facilities expert expressed concern over what he described as a recurring pattern among many states that have previously hosted the National Sports Festival, where facilities were constructed primarily to meet the immediate demands of the games without adequate consideration for long-term value.
He observed that many of such facilities begin to deteriorate shortly after the festival because quality, sustainability, maintenance and lifecycle planning were not given priority during their construction.
Egbe noted that Bayelsa State has a rare opportunity to break that cycle by investing in sports infrastructure that meets international standards while also institutionalising a sustainable maintenance culture.
He maintained that if the state gets it right, the National Sports Festival would not only be remembered as a successful sporting event but also as the foundation of a lasting sports infrastructure legacy that would benefit future generations.
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