Marsabit Stadium in second phase of construction

Sports Kenya has begun the construction of the second phase of the Marsabit Stadium in bid to raise it to international standards.

Speaking to the Nation Tuesday, county Education officer and acting chief officer for Sports Mary Amina said that Sports Kenya has given Sh279 million for building of pitches and a pavilion.

Ms Amina said the county government has also given Sh77 million for the construction of the dais which will have a capacity to sit up to 5,000 people.

“The entire stadium will accommodate more than 13,000 people with the north and south pavilions accommodating 3,000 each,” said Ms Amina.

Contractors plan to hand over the complete stadium to the county government by November 2017.

Ms Amina said the project will not only boost the economy of the county by bringing in people from other regions but will also help improve the talents of locals.

GOR MAHIA

She said the county will bring in national teams like Gor Mahia during its launch in bid to position the stadium on the national stage.

“When the project is complete, we hope that we can hold national and county sporting activities because we will have the facilities,” said Ms Amina.

The stadium will also have football and rugby pitches and athletics tracks.

At the moment, young boys and girls play in the stadium during the weekends when the construction is not ongoing.

They come to play cricket with their improvised kits but the county government has said it will provide them with proper cricket kits.

Ms Amina added that in future, the county government will build basketball and volleyball pitches as well as a swimming pool to help improve talent in the county.

“This financial year only the county allocated Sh30 million while the other Sh47 million will be catered for in the next budget. We hope to make it more advanced come next year,” she added.