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After years of delays, the Jamaican government says it is closer to establishing entertainment zones where events can be held without disturbing communities and earnings from the entertainment sector can be maximised.
As part of the buildout of the sector, the long-promised, refurbished entertainment venues, Fort Rocky in Port Royal, Kingston, and Jamworld in Portmore, St Catherine, are both expected to host events next month, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange has said.
The minister was responding to criticisms that the Jamaican government was slow in doing its part to provide suitable venues in which events can be held.
For years, there have been calls for permanent entertainment zones, inclusive of venues of various sizes, to capitalise on the popularity of the country’s music and party culture.
Grange, in her Sectoral Debate presentation in June last year, said the government was moving ahead with plans to develop Fort Rocky as a major venue in the Port Royal Entertainment Zone, just east of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
The minister said then that the delay in the development was caused by the conduct of an ecological assessment of the site, as well as a survey of flora and fauna, and a study of sound and light.
In March last year, the Jamworld Entertainment Complex in Portmore, St Catherine, was announced to be Jamaica’s first 24-hour entertainment zone. The revelation was made by Governor General Sir Patrick Allen during the Throne Speech at the ceremonial opening of Parliament.
Grange said plans to develop both entertainment zones were proceeding.
“The cruise ship pier is a facility that’s available for rental. Fort Rocky is available, so too is Fort Charles and the Naval Hospital. We have a small cinema there that can do screenings, and there is also the lighthouse, which is also available. All of these are within the Port Royal Entertainment Zone,” the minister said in an interview with the Financial Gleaner.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, DeanRoy Bernard, said in relation to the Fort Rocky venue that a project team, which meets weekly, had identified a number of activities to upgrade the facility, including landscaping, gating and fencing; the provision of parking spaces; upgrading of housing for the security staff, bathroom facilities, lighting and water.
Bernard said the ministry had spent about $25 million on the facility so far, and had established a marketing team to push for the hosting of events in Port Royal.
“As a ministry, we are going to be active and deliberate in getting persons out there to use the facilities,” he said.
Ewan Simpson, chairman of the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association, JaRIA, said a properly organised entertainment sector would significantly boost Jamaica’s economy.
For that to happen, a number of entertainment zones equipped with amenities that can be transformed within 72 hours to host big music festivals, back to back, are needed, as is the case in places like Florida in the United States.
“I’m not sure that people appreciate the importance of entertainment to the economy,” said Simpson. “We just need to see what happens when we have mega entertainment events, and see what that does for the flow of money through the economy through the use of facilities, transportation, hospitality, production, or whatever,” he told Financial Gleaner.
“We are unable to attract the quality events that we need because we don’t have the venues and the support system to host these mega concerts,” he said.
Simpson said existing spaces, such as the National Stadium, or the Mona Bowl at the University of the West Indies, have to be retrofitted to accommodate events, a situation that is not ideal.
Simpson was on the production team of the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival which was held in a number of venues in the early 2000s, including the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium, the Cinnamon Hill Golf Course on the outskirts of Montego Bay, and the James Bond Beach in St Mary, each of which, he said, took considerable time to build out.
“It’s a little sad that we have not looked at a business model around creating venues in different parts of Jamaica that can earn their keep,” said the JaRIA president.
“Entertainment zones could actually be designed in a particular way and systems put in place governing how they are used; processes put in place to mitigate traffic congestion issues, excessive sound spillage into the neighbouring communities, and so on. They would provide consistent economic activity for people in the area and provide training and support services for all the other things that you need, such as sanitation, technical support, security, and other things,” he said.
But Grange says Jamaica isn’t short of venues to hold events, whether big or small.
“We have the National Stadium complex, which includes the National Indoor Centre, the National Arena, Stadium East and Mas Camp. It’s true that Freedom Street did some damage to the play field, but the track wasn’t damaged, and what will have to be done in the future is for the IPL management to ensure that there’s better protection in the grass area,” she said. IPL, or Independence Park Limited, is a state-owned entity.
“Sometimes when people say there are no venues, they may be talking about a venue which is turnkey,” the minister added. “But different sound companies and different promoters like to speak about how they design their sound and their lighting. So even if you have a venue that is turnkey, it would be basic because the promoters are going to bring in additional equipment that will give their event that special look and feel, that special sound,” she said.
Gillian McDaniel, senior director in the culture ministry, said 24,970 approved events were held in Jamaica in 2023, based on data from the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
“We can identify over 427 venues across the island that have been used repeatedly for events. Some are indoors, some outdoors, some are publicly or privately held. The municipal corporations may place restrictions on the use of some of them because of parking or sanitation issues. But as the ministry, we wouldn’t agree that entertainment venues are not available,” she said.
Bernard says another $25 million had been identified for renovation works at Jamworld, but those plans were embryonic. Jamworld comprises 80 acres and is owned by the Jamaican government through the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport. Its estimated capacity is 100,000 patrons.
Grange said there was a proposal for a movie stage to be built at Jamworld.
Meanwhile, Grange said it was unrealistic to invest in all the facilities needed for events either at Fort Rocky or Jamworld.
One of the privately owned facilities hosting large events is Plantation Cove in St Ann.
Vonni Koromanti, corporate affairs and compliance manager for Plantation Cove, said the space can accommodate events with up to 100,000 persons.
“We are a full-service venue offering marketing, production, the venue, all of that. We also like to think of ourselves as the headquarters of promoters,” Koromanti told the Financial Gleaner.
Koromanti says Jamaica is not short of entertainment venues, but that the existing ones need to be better managed.
“Jamaica has sufficient venues for events. However, they are not operating at optimum. There is enough land space earmarked to be venues. However, the execution is lagging,” she said.
A report on the entertainment, cultural and creative industry, done during the COVID-19 pandemic for the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, placed its value at $195 billion, or 9.3 per cent of GDP. Employment was estimated at 76,382 persons directly and indirectly, or 5.7 per cent of the total labour force, McDaniel said.
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