BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – Amid rising public pushback over restricted entry to the recently renovated Kim Collins Athletics Stadium, government officials have publicly defended their new structured access policy, emphasizing that the venue is not closed to athletes and formal, clear protocols are now in place to govern its use.
Sports Minister Samal Duggins, who has become the primary target of public criticism over the policy shift, reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to keeping the high-profile facility accessible to the island’s athletic community during recent public remarks. He did, however, underline that structured management is non-negotiable to preserve the multimillion-dollar refurbished venue for long-term use.
“We maintain a formal process that allows legitimate use of the stadium, but all activity must go through official oversight,” Duggins explained during the briefing. “There are segments of the public that believe public facilities should operate without any rules or boundaries. But I strongly urge everyone to get on board with practices that support sustainable, responsible use and long-term care of this important community asset.”
The controversy was first brought to the forefront during Duggins’ quarterly press briefing on July 15, where Valencia Syder, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Sports, walked attendees through the reasoning behind the policy overhaul, addressing widespread concerns around security, access, and facility management in the wake of the recent renovation project.
Syder revealed that ministry officials uncovered a series of critical management gaps during a post-refurbishment review of the facility. Most notably, multiple unauthorized individuals had obtained copied keys to the stadium, allowing unrecorded and unregulated entry over a period of years.
“For far too long, the stadium was effectively open to anyone for any purpose, because access controls were completely lax,” Syder said. “We found clear evidence of misuse and mismanagement. People were able to get unauthorized key copies cut without the ministry’s knowledge, so for a long time, we had no idea who was entering the facility or what it was being used for.”
After recent issues with broken and non-functional entry gates, the ministry completed repairs to all access points and changed all facility locks, meaning the stadium is now fully secured when not in official use. Syder noted that the new locked-access policy is the root of the current criticism: people who previously relied on unauthorized keys can no longer enter whenever they please, leading to false claims that the stadium has been fully locked down to all athletes.
Jeffrey Hazel, Director of Sports for St. Kitts and Nevis, later laid out the step-by-step process for individual athletes and organizations that want to book the Kim Collins Stadium, or any other public sports facility overseen by the Department of Sports. Hazel clarified that the new policy applies to all public sports venues across the island, not just the newly refurbished Kim Collins facility.
“Any individual or group seeking to use one of our facilities must submit a formal written request to the Department of Sports,” Hazel explained. “Requests can be sent via email to sknsports@gov.kn, and our team typically responds very quickly. The vast majority of requests are approved, as long as they align with facility guidelines.”
The official clarification comes as public debate around the policy has grown over the past week, with many local athletes complaining that the new rules create unnecessary barriers to training. Government officials have pushed back on these claims, reiterating that the stadium remains fully open to eligible athletes and organized groups that follow the straightforward pre-approval process.