Local sports officials see nothing unusual in the fact a 28 million baht sports arena has not been used for at least two years and is now rundown and overgrown.
Passakorn Phutthananupakorn, provincial chief of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), said on Monday it was normal for a stadium to go more than two years without any activities being orgainised there.
He refused to explain just why no events had been scheduled there, only denying news reports that it cost 100 million baht to build. The actual figure was merely 28 million baht, he said.
The stadium is in suburban Nakhon Phanom municipality in Muang district. The arena is a shambles, the grass on the centre field long and uncut and the running track around it rapidy deteriorating.
Mr Passakorm claimed workers maintaining the grounds could not keep up with the grass growing there because it had been raining a lot.
SAT headquarters in Bangkok was aware of the problem and was considering allocating extra funding for a cleanup and renovation, he said.
However, according to one person involved in maintaining the grounds, no budget funds have been provided for years. (continues) The stadium was built by the SAT to promote activities in Nakhon Phanom and neighbouring provinces. It is not clear when.
“Providing sports services is our duty,” SAT Office Region 3 declares on its website. The office oversees some northeastern provinces, including Nakhon Phanom.
Nakhon Phanom has another stadium, closer to the city centre, built by the Provincial Administration Organisation. This venue is home to Nakhon Phanom FC, a football club. It is well maintained.