An independent report has recommended that Fort Regent be closed as a sports and events venue.
It's one of a series of suggestions in the report, commissioned by the government to assess the future of Jersey's sports facilities.
Seven strategic recommendations were made, including:
- Considering closing Fort Regent as a sports and events venue and investigating how else the site could be used;
- Considering the development of a new sports and events centre in St Helier to replace and improve upon the facilities currently offered at Fort Regent and Aquasplash;
- Assessing the feasibility of investing into Les Quennevais Sports Centre;
- Considering the creation of an island stadium for football and rugby;
- Investigating the possibility of developing a sports facility in the east of the island; and
- Considering the feasibility of creating a seafront watersports facility.
The report was delivered by specialist consultancy firm Knight, Kavanagh and Page Ltd. at a cost of just over £48,500.
It called the general sporting offer at Fort Regent 'not fit for purpose' - and not a 'viable, medium or long-term option for Jersey'.
The Assistant Minister responsible for Sport, Senator Steve Pallett, says nothing will change in the short-term.
"Fort Regent is not going to close overnight. I just want to make that clear for people, it's business as usual for the time being.
"I think everybody understands that there's a need to do something with Fort Regent, whether it's a refurbishment or a regeneration or whatever we're going to do with it."
A new political oversight group has been created to develop a new sports facilities strategy and consider the recommendations.
"I think making sure that we have a clear understanding of what sports facilities we'll need over the next 15-20 years will be really important."
"We've already kick-started that work, what we need to work on now is some more detail as to where the facilities will go and the potential cost." - Senator Pallett.
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