Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Struggling to secure funding one month ahead of the tentative date set for the Wray and Nephew National Premier League kick-off, former champions Tivoli Gardens were dealt another severe blow by the passage of Hurricane Dean.

Half-eaten billboards, vacant sections of roofing and part of the newly constructed Eastern Stands, strewn across the middle of the playing field, told the story of the Edward Seaga Sports Complex's torrid battle with the hurricane's savage winds.

'Terrible setback'

"This is a terrible setback for us, I don't have the exact figures right now in terms of an estimate, but the billboards at least I suspect are over $200,000 each," explained Tivoli Gardens president and former Prime Minister, Edward Seaga. "The structure which held the billboards in place cost millions of dollars at least and the three eastern stands had just been put in."

In addition to the 25 billboards which were all but destroyed, Tivoli's bar and clubhouse also suffered major damage, with the latter sustaining damage to board and changing rooms.

"We had just changed the roof so we did not expect the damage to be that bad, it is one of the sturdier club houses you will find," Seaga explained. "The damage to the buildings is bad, but that should give us the least problems in terms of a monetary value."

The storm was definitely bad news for the club which is currently in the process of acquiring funds before the start of the season, through the newly formed Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA).

Seaga, who is chairman of the association, could not say where that issue stood definitively.

"The whole situation is in a state of uncertainty for everybody. We are trying to put together something through the new organisation," he said.