The Kavieng Sports Stadium at the Kopkop showground in New Ireland has been renamed Sir Julius Chan Stadium in honor of one of PNG’s Founding Fathers.
New Ireland Governor Walter D Schnaubelt announced this during the New Ireland Day celebrations held at the stadium on last Saturday.
“It is fitting and proper to announce here today that the Kavieng Sports Stadium will now be named in honor and legacy of our late Governor Sir Julius Chan,” he said.
“Late Sir Julius, Papua New Guinea’s most seasoned politician built this amazing facility that has set a high benchmark for development in New Ireland for years to come.”
The stadium was built by the China Railway Construction Company, which also built the New Ireland Legislative Assembly.
The renaming of the stadium was one of the highlights of the New Ireland Day celebrations, which brought together traditional and cultural performances from the Kavieng and Namatanai districts.
Governor Schnaubelt, a sporting star cum politician, said plans were underway to upgrade the stadium meet international standards.
“We will maintain the Sir Julius Chan Stadium and potentially develop new ones such as the Konos and Namatanai stadiums to meet international standards as well as the needs of various sports disciplines,” he said.
The Governor added that he would like to see New Ireland hosting the Digicel Cup and PNG Hunters games after the upgrading work had been completed.
His vision is to make New Ireland the Rugby 9s and 7s capital of PNG, similar to the Hong Kong Rugby 7s tournament.