A shortage of sports facilities in Bahrain's capital could be addressed by converting existing parks into state-of-the-art leisure complexes, said a report.

It follows complaints by people in Manama that there are not enough places to play sports such as football, volleyball and handball.

The Capital Trustees Board has already approved plans to turn a public park in Jurdab into sports pitches and a study will determine whether private investment should be sought, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

Assessments of other parks in the Capital Governorate will also be conducted to determine whether they are properly serving the public, or whether the private sector should be brought in to develop them.

However, Capital Trustees Board chairman Mohammed Al Khozaae said the new facilities should be made available for free, despite opposition from other board members who argued that they could generate much-needed funds.

'I believe new pitch complexes, whether in Jurdab or in other parks, should be open to all (for free),' said Al Khozaae.

'It is the authority's duty to oversee them and carry out maintenance '“ this shouldn't come out of people's pockets.

'If an investor takes over a park, using a pitch for an hour could cost around BD45 ($119), which many living in the area can't afford.

"However, that concept (of charging to use sports facilities) could be introduced at parks that are not close to residential areas," he added.

But board vice-chairman and technical committee chairman Mazen Alumran said the costs involved in constructing new sports facilities meant private investment would be required.

He pointed out that artificial grass costs BD37 ($98) per metre and the budget for the planned project in Jurdab could reach BD237,000 ($624,868), which meant any new complexes must be self-sufficient.

'The cost of change is very high and there are other parks that we want to turn into pitches,' he added.

The Youth and Sport Affairs Ministry will be contacted by the board to discuss the proposals further.-TradeArabia News Service