GFA's 'expectation' is Victoria Avenue Stadium Project will be successfully delivered
THE Victoria Avenue Stadium project has not hit major problems or, worse still, the buffers, insists the Guernsey FA.
Delays to the start of building work are all part of the process, says GFA chief executive Gary Roberts.
While rumours circulate of a shortage of funding due to new engineers’ reports, Roberts said that supposed problems are ‘none that were not expected so not necessarily regarded as being problems’.
‘The various consultant reports have provided detailed site information that has been used to issue tender packages to potential contractors,’ he said this week.
As for rising costs, Roberts added: ‘Until the various tenders are back and reviewed, it is not possible to provide any specific comment about the costs, although with the GFA having employed its own agents and consultants in advance of the project being tendered, it is not expected that the costs will be significantly different – higher or lower – to the pre-tender estimates on which the overall project business plan has been based.’
Since the project was first announced in March 2018 it had been hoped that the stadium, which will also provide a home pitch and new base for Guernsey FC, would be ready in time for the 2021 Island Games.
But with the countdown to the Games now just under the 500 days to go mark, that hope seems to be diminishing with every passing week, although a pitch as such could be ready.
On that question, Roberts said: ‘We have been entirely open with the 2021 organising committee in that whilst we hope the facility will be operational, there is always a possibility that the project may not be fully delivered due to the timescales involved with the legal elements, lease arrangements and funding applications.’
As for a date for stadium completion, the answer is: ‘Until the project tenders are received and reviewed, and the costs confirmed, it is not possible to provide an update.
‘Discussions remain on-going with the various project partners [States of Guernsey, Football Foundation and Football Association] in terms of the funding applications, legal matters and lease arrangements to ensure the project is successfully delivered, which remains the expectation of the GFA,’ added Roberts.
‘As we have previously advised the various [local] club presidents, as soon as we have definitive information they will be the first to whom we provide that update.’
More in Thursday's Guernsey Press.
