Councilman Praiwan Arromchuen
presides over a meeting to restore the Pattaya Youth Sports Center.
Vittaya Yoondorn
Nearly three years after calling the Pattaya Youth Sports Center a
“dilapidated embarrassment,” city officials are again promising to upgrade
facilities by building a hostel for athletes and charging rent for third
parties wishing to use its field.
At a Jan. 24 meeting the Pattaya City Council’s Sports and Recreation
Committee, Councilman Praiwan Arromchuen told educators and engineers of the
need to spruce up the 12-rai complex off Thepprasit Soi 4.
Built in 2006, the center was heralded as a valuable
resource for area youths, but was quickly neglected. In July 2010, city
council officials toured the site to find a football field covered in dead
grass, a track-and-field area that had collapsed and broken showers at the
swimming pool. The politicians pledged to submit a report and budget request
so repairs can be made quickly.
Things have not improved much since. Praiwan said the field is often used
for non-sporting events, leaving it in need for restoration. Furthermore, he
called for construction of a hostel to house athletes staying in Pattaya for
youth-sports events.
He also called for various areas within the center to be brought up to an
acceptable standard.
As for the field, the committee chairman called for the
city to charge rental fees for use, and for the drafting of usage rules and
regulations.
More money to support the center could also be raised, he added, by finding
sponsors to support various sports.
