Independence Park is a sports and cultural complex in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inte ...

built for the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. They were followed by the 1966 Commonwealth P ...

. It houses a variety of sports facilities. A statue of

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements ...

marks th
entrance to the site
The main sports venue at the complex is the National Stadium.

The National Stadium

The National Stadium is primarily used for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

(being the home field of the

Jamaica Football Federation The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is the governing body of football in Jamaica and is in charge of the Jamaica national football team and the Jamaica National Premier League. History Early history (1893–1962) According to the JFF, th ...

) but is also considered the apex of

Athletic Athletic may refer to: * An athlete, a sportsperson * Athletic director, a position at many American universities and schools * Athletic type, a physical/psychological type in the classification of Ernst Kretschmer * Athletic of Philadelphia, a ba ...

competition in the West Indies being home to Jamaica's national athletic team for the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

and

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the ex ...

. It was built for the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games, for which it was the main stadium hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, track and field and cycling events. It was also home to the

. It holds 35,000 people. Facilities include: * a 400m

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

regulation running track
a warm up track east of the main stadium
was recently renovated to create a second world class competition track) * a 500m concrete

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

which encircles the running track * a

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

regulation football pitch * a media centre * 11 private suites and a royal box. A statue of Olympic gold medallist Don Quarrie guards th
entrance to the stadium
Other statues in the complex include those of

Arthur Wint Arthur Stanley Wint OD MBE (25 May 1920 – 19 October 1992) was a Jamaican Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot during the Second World War, sprinter, physician, and later High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Competing at the 1948 and 1952 Olympi ...

Herb McKenley The Hon. Herbert Henry McKenley OM (10 July 1922 – 26 November 2007) was a Jamaican track and field sprinter. He competed at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics in six events in total, and won one gold and three silver medals. Born in Pleasant Vall ...

and

Merlene Ottey Merlene Joyce Ottey (born 10 May 1960) is a Jamaican- Slovenian former track and field sprinter. She began her career representing Jamaica in 1978, and continued to do so for 24 years, before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 2012. She is ...

Olympic size swimming and diving pools

The pools were built to host the aquatic events of the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games. The main swimming pool was modified to accommodate the

which required that distances be in yards as opposed to metres. It currently seats 8,500.

The National Arena

The National Arena was built to host the Weightlifting and Wrestling events of the

. It holds 6,000 people and was opened in 1963. It is now used for a wide range of activities including sports tournaments (netball, table tennis, etc.), trade exhibitions, flower shows, the National Festival song and costume competitions and state funerals. Bob Marley and the Wailers performed there in '75. The 1982 Youth Consciousness Festival hosted

Bunny Wailer Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963 ...

, and

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

The National Indoor Sports Complex (NISC)

The National Indoor Sports Complex was built adjacent to the National Arena to host the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

IFNA World Netball, previously known as the International Netball Federation and the International Federation of Netball Associations, is the worldwide governing body for Netball. The INF was created in 1960 and is responsible for world rankings, m ...

Netball World Championships The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by the World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and th ...

. It holds 6,000 people and opened in 2002. It also is used to host events such as parties, fashion shows as well as other sports such as basketball.

Leila Robinson Netball Courts

These are outdoor netball courts located in between the basketball courts and Swimming Complex. It is named after Leila Robinson, the first ever netball coach and manager for the Sunshine Girls. It underwent renovations at the end of 2014 into 2015 where the complex, which hosts four netball courts, received a new surface, replacing the outdated rubberized surface as well as new stands, located on the right side of the complex, which now accommodated persons with disabilities. The renovations cost upward of $23 million.

The Institute of Sports

The Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) was established in 1978 by the Government of Jamaica to promote the development of sport at the national level. It is located beside the National Arena. The building houses the Jamaica Table Tennis and Volleyball associations at the bottom floor;

Netball Jamaica Netball Jamaica is the peak governing body for the sport of netball in Jamaica. The organisation's stated objectives for Jamaica netball are to achieve national and international success in competition, encourage greater participation and spectato ...

, Special Olympics and Basketball (JABA) associations on the second floor; and the Institute of Sports on the top floor.

Stadium Courts

These are the outdoor basketball courts located beside the Leila Robinson Netball Courts. The complex hosts two basketball courts with stands to the left of the complex.

Notes and references

External links

Independence Park
at

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. {{Coord, 18, 00, 07, N, 76, 46, 18, W, display=title, region:JM_type:landmark_source:dewiki Football venues in Jamaica Athletics (track and field) venues in Jamaica

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

Sport in Kingston, Jamaica Stadiums of the Commonwealth Games CONCACAF Gold Cup stadiums Rugby league stadiums in Jamaica Buildings and structures in Kingston, Jamaica Sports venues completed in 1962 1962 establishments in Jamaica