Jamworld Entertainment Center in Portmore, the venue famous for being the home of the famous reggae and dancehall show STING, will become the island’s first 24-hour entertainment zone.
This is according to Governor-General Patrick Allen, who made the announcement during the ceremonial opening of the 2024/2025 session of Parliament on Thursday.
According to Allen, the center is currently being renovated and will serve “to address the need for designated entertainment areas.”
In 2022, Culture and Entertainment Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange revealed that the government acquired the entertainment Center.
According to Grange then, plans were being put in place to turn the 70-acre site into a state-of-the-art facility.
“It will be built out as one of the greatest entertainment complexes that you will find in this hemisphere,” she said.
That year, STING took place at the Grizzly’s Plantation Cove in St. Ann, but returned to Jamworld Entertainment Center last year.
Entertainment zones long overdue
Over the last several years, Minister Grange has spoken of her plans to establish several entertainment zones across the island.
Independence Park in Kingston, Trelawny Stadium, the Port Royal Entertainment Zone, including Fort Rocky and Fort Charles, as well as Seville Heritage Park in St. Ann, were previously named as venues that would become entertainment zones.
Minister Grange highlighted that entertainment zones and specific event spaces for music, dance, religious festivals, and celebrations will provide a special place where aspects of Jamaican culture can be celebrated. She noted that the Ministry of Tourism’s research has found that tourists flock to Jamaica to partake in these aspects of the culture.
“This is not sun, sea, and sand only but a place of realness that the Ministry of Tourism’s own study has found that tourists crave in their sojourns to Jamaica,” she said.
