‘NSA needs $15m for Accra Stadium renovation`

The Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Robert Sarfo Mensah, has hinted that about $15 million is needed to renovate the Accra Sports Stadium.

This, he said, was because the stadium had been left to rot since its refurbishment for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2008, hence the need for a lot more resources to bring it back into shape.

“For the whole stadium to be in good shape, we are not looking at anything less than $15m because we have allowed this beautiful and important edifice to corrode to the extent that, to be able to bring it back to its original state, we would need a lot of funds,” he noted.

The NSA boss, in an earlier interview with the Graphic Sports last month, explained that his outfit decided to close down the commentary box, VIP and the VVIP sections of the Accra Stadium based on a technical report by the Architecture And Engineering Services Limited (AESL) which marked those portions of the stadium as high risk areas for spectators.

But the planned major renovation at the stadium was held up because of pleas from Accra Hearts of Oak to be allowed to use the venue for their home games till the end of the season.Mr Mensah, however, disclosed that the NSA was already in discussions with government to help raise funds to commence the renovation works as soon as possible.

It would be recalled that the government spent over $32 million to refurbish the Accra Sports Stadium for the hosting of AFCON 2008.