Pacific Games

Noumea Nearly

Ready For South

From Fred Dunn in Noumea.

The sporting complex for the 1966 South Pacific Games in December is nearing com

pletion.

THE Magenta stadium where the most important contests will be held is expected to be finished at the end of June. The “omnisports” hall in the Anse Vata district will be terminated in July and the municipal Olympic pool will be finished in August.

The finishing touches to the complex, such as access roads and general beautification, should all be terminated in September and the lighting should be ready in late November.

Thus a task that many locals thought impossible will have been brought to a successful conclusion — ahead of the estimated date.

However, the disenchanting job of paying for it all still has to be faced.

The estimated cost up to now is about SA3i million. To this must be added the cost of certain major road work, including a new entrance to the town some three kilometres in length. This is estimated to cost at least 68 million Pacific francs (SA680,000). So New Caledonian

tax-payers are likely to remember the Games for quite a few years.

Authorities expect that some 3,000 people will visit Noumea for the Games from surrounding countries.

At least 1,200 of these will be athletes.

The influx of visitors will cause an accommodation problem, as the local hotels can take care of a maximum of only 800 persons.

To cope with it, athletes will be lodged in the boarding schools which will close early in December; a tent village at the Anse Vata camping reserve will be created; and an ap peal is to be made to local residents to take in some of the visitors.

The omnisports hall in Anse Vata will seat about 2,000 people. It will be used for basketball and volleyball, boxing, table tennis and athletics.

About 60 girls have answered the call of the Games organisers to act as “welcoming hostesses”. The girls, who will be in uniform, will give their services free.

They will assist the organising authorities with the many chores which will have to be carried out during the Games.

Those with a knowledge of English will be used as interpreters.

It is expected that extra police will be recruited for the duration of the Games, and the gendarmerie will be increased especially for traffic problems.

It is unlikely that extra gendarmes will be brought from France. Pro bably the extra men needed will be brought in from country centres during the Games.