Worn out surface and a broke Union. Will City Park finally get a facelift?

Kenya’s premier hockey stadium, City Park, will be closed for almost two years to pave the way for refurbishment at a cost of Sh120 million.

Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) president Nahashon Randiek said they have requested the government to help fund half of the budget for renovation that begins early next year.

The  government built the stadium in 1987 and the facility hosted the All African Games hockey matches in the same year.

The floodlights and a new artificial surface were installed in 2006. The artificial pitch is worn out and cannot host international games.

Randiek said that renovations will be done in three phases. The first phase will cost Sh85 million and will start with the car park, laying of cabro and fixing of the drainage system.

The artificial turf system will also be replaced in the first phase at a cost of Sh20 million.

The KHU chief said in phase two, the changing rooms, the VIP stand, and half of the arena will be renovated at Sh30 million. 

The final phase, which is not factored in the current budget, will involve  fixing seats and finishing the remaining half of the arena.

Randiek said KHU patron Chris Diaz will head the project, adding that he has several fundraising options.

In the first option, the winning bid for the stadium’s naming rights will pay Sh5 million each year for a period of five years, in the second option, a sponsor for the perimeter field board panel will be required to pay Sh150,000 for each of the 150 panels for three years.

In the third option, a sponsor for the stadium’s external wall will be allocated 20 spaces for advertisement at Sh60,000 for each.

Lastly, a sponsor willing to brand the playing turf will be required to pay a one-off fee of Sh15 million.

New turf

Randiek said that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and Africa Hockey Federation (AfHF) have already engaged Greenfields, who are the FIH approved turf manufacturers, to make a new turf.

The two bodies have agreed to give the firm a two-year guarantee for the payment plan in which Kenya will give Sh10 million for the turf.

The second payment of Sh5 million will be done after a year and the final payment of Sh5 million will be remitted after the second year.

“We will be turning to people we do business with to give us money in advance for the project,” said Randiek.

“We expect the cabro blocks to be laid at the parking lot and the artificial turf to be laid within one year. The changing rooms, VIP arena and the seats will take an additional six months.”

League matches and international fixtures will be moved to Simba Union that has a new artificial pitch.

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