St. Kitts and Nevis could become the epicentre of aquatic sport and other indoor sporting activities in the Eastern Caribbean with the realisation of CJ’s Fitness & Wellness Sports Center (CJSC). The facility is earmarked for construction in the vicinity of the old Sugar Factory off the FT Williams Highway. The visionary behind the project is Calvin James, an engineer from St. Kitts and Nevis with a wealth of international experience. “CJ’s Fitness and Wellness Sports Center is a very diverse project that entails several areas in the well-being of humans. This vision came into being over 10 years ago and we have been working behind the scenes within the diaspora to develop this particular area,” said Mr. James.
Senior Architect and Director Derionne Fleming explained the concept: “The project mainly is a multi-purpose facility. It will have many amenities including an Olympic-size swimming pool, hotel in close proximity to the airport, gym-based activities, sports museum, St. Kitts Sugar Manufacturing Corporation museum — so it’s really a plethora of activities.” The facility will be built on four acres of land, incorporating the existing cooling pond (for aquatic sports) and water tank. Financial advisor Dr. Eustace Esdaille pointed to the economic impact: “This project will be a strong economic impact for the Federation. When you invest US$40 million, there might be a multiplier of maybe 1.5 to 5, so 40 million runs into 200 million or somewhere in between.” The project will be done in phases over a three-year span and will facilitate fitness, wellness and rehabilitation programmes for children from age five as well as adults and groups, including the physically-challenged. Amenities include indoor court games (basketball, volleyball, netball, table tennis, squash, bowling), local/regional/international swim meets, a restaurant, sports lounge, and a concert and performing arts theatre with seating for up to 700 persons.