One Inspection Done, One to Go for CCS

(ATR) After a profitable 30-hour visit to Puerto Rico, Centro Caribe Sports is now waiting for El Salvador.

"The inspection was carried out as planned," CCS president Luis Mejía Oviedo, from the Dominican Republic, told Around the Rings. Heled the delegation of the Future Venues Commission on its trip to Mayaguez.

Mayaguez and San Salvador are the two candidate cities for the 2022 Central American and Caribbean Games.

The Games were awarded in 2017 to Panama City but the Central American venue suddenly pulled out last summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mejía and his companions met on Thursday with the new Governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, with the mayor of Mayaguez José Guillermo Rodríguez and his team, with the president of the M2010 Foundation, Felipe Pérez Grajales, who heads the Candidacy Committee, and with the head of the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee (COPUR), Sara Rosario.

Pérez Grajales was the president of the Organizing Committee of the regional Games 11 years ago and he was the one who now raised the viability of a new project to the local Olympic authorities.

Likewise, the supervising expedition toured several of the main sports facilities which served as the headquarters for the regional Games in 2010.

The visit "was successful," commented the president of CCS, who closed the day with a press conference. "It allowed us to document in practice what had been given to us in the documentation."

Mayaguez has proposed to organize the multisport contest between May and June 2022.

Mejía confirmed the support of Governor Pierluisi, saying "he gave us his word and the steps that are being taken are encouraging".

"In the next few days we should receive more documentation on the budget issue."

The investment for the Games is estimated to be $70 million. The 2010 Games needed $300 million.

The Dominican leader revealed that Mayaguez 2022 made some adjustments especially in the sports program but declined to reveal in which sports there would be changes.

"The rigorousness of an inspection does not imply exposing what has been seen, only after the final decision," he commented.

Mejía confirmed that the announcement of the winning venue will be made in April but did not specify a date.

To a large extent, this decision would be linked to the result of the pending visit to San Salvador. So far a date has not been determined.

It is projected that the Games will be held in 2022 but with these changing and complex times due to the health crisis and the financial situation, the CCS leadership shows reasonable flexibility.

"Whether it is 2022 or 2023 is something we must decide when we have the final analysis of the two offers on the table.

"What we are most sure of is that we will have the edition of the games," insisted Mejía who was accompanied on the trip by the directors of CCS, Jimena Saldaña (Mexico), Henry Núñez (Costa Rica) and Felipe Vicini (Dominican Republic).

ATR learned that on Thursday CCS sent a second letter to those responsible for the candidacy of San Salvador asking for confirmation of the date for the inspection visit.

Mejía recalled that the date had already been set for January, including a meeting with the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele. But at that time CCS postponed trips to El Salvador and Puerto Rico due to the extension of airport restrictions due to the wave of COVID.

"We expect the answer in the next few days," said Mejia.

Written and reported by Miguel Hernandez

For general comments or questions,click here.

Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.