Centro Caribe Sports to Visit Mayaguez

(ATR) The Central American and Caribbean Games of 2022 face a race against the clock due to the pandemic.

On Monday Around the Rings learned that leaders of Centro Caribe Sports (formerly ODECABE) will travel to Puerto Rico this coming week for an essential meeting with the new Governor Pedro Pierluisi.

The president of CCS, the Dominican Luis Mejía Oviedo, and the temporary president of the New Headquarters Commission, the Mexican Jimena Saldaña, will make the trip.

Mayagüez (Puerto Rico) and San Salvador (El Salvador) stepped forward as candidates after the sudden withdrawal of Panama last summer due to the coronavirus health crisis.

The meeting with Pierluisi, which has also been confirmed by the representatives of the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee and the Mayagüez 2010 Foundation, is scheduled for March 17.

CCS want to meet with the governors of Puerto Rico and El Salvador to obtain from them the guarantee of formal commitment, especially when in the case of the Puerto Rican proposal, there would only be 14 months for the organization to prepare. Mayaguez hosted the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games.

Neither the former president of ODECABE, Steve Stoute, nor later his successor Mejía Oviedo, managed to meet with the Panamanian leaders after the country was awarded hosting privileges.

Mayaguez has proposed the dates of May 29 to June 13, 2022.

San Salvador, for its part, proposes to organize the Games in March 2023, four months after celebrating the Central American Games in the city of Santa Tecla.

Until this Monday, the date for CCS's visit to the Central American capital was not known.

Apparently the trip is dependent on the agenda of President Nayib Bukele who has shown his support for the Salvadoran bid.

Likewise, Governor Pierluisi has also publicly expressed his support for Mayaguez provided that financing channels are available for not only the sports facilities, but also other essential infrastructures.

The trip of the directors of Centro Caribe Sports to the two cities had been scheduled for January but was canceled due to the epidemiological situation and restrictions on international travel.

The announcement of the winning venue will likely be announced in March.

Written and reported by Miguel Hernandez

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