ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball recently announced plans to construct a state-of-the-art indoor track facility at the County’s Department of Recreation & Parks Troy Park at Elkridge, during a kick-off event for the East Coast International Track and Field Showcase held at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex. Ball has included $2.5 million in his proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budget directed towards the planning and design stage of this facility.
“This new facility demonstrates our commitment to athletic excellence and serves as a symbol of our community’s boundless potential,” said Ball. “The success of The East Coast International Track and Field Showcase and our vision to create a world-class indoor track facility right here in Howard County, are testaments to the boundless opportunity we can create. This investment will not only inspire, uplift, and support our remarkable athletes and hopefully our community’s next Olympic champions, but also supports our local businesses and economy. I would like to offer a special thank you to our local restaurants and hotels who have stepped up with food donations and discounted hotel rates to house and feed these athletes as they chase their dreams.”
With construction slated to begin in fall 2025 and be completed in 2027, this new indoor facility will be the only indoor track facility in Howard County and a premier indoor track facility for the entire region, able to host regional and state indoor track meets.
Sanjay Ayre, who attended high school in Jamaica and the USA before going on to represent Jamaica at three Olympic Games, spoke about how the idea of hosting a meet came about: “I thought to myself, would it be a cool idea to merge the two countries I love dearly to go into a head-to-head competition for high schoolers. Alongside that, I had many dreams as a Howard County resident to one day have an international track and field meeting here. Over the years, I have had several conversations with County Executive Dr. Calvin ball in regard to building an indoor track & field stadium. We are happy to partner with Howard County Community College to host our athletes. We have 150 international athletes that are here in town this weekend… 120 from Jamaica. We also have athletes from Haiti, Canada, the Cayman Islands, and Belize.”
Juliet Campbell, Puma Sports Marketing Manager for Running, said it was an easy choice for Puma when they first came on board to support the event. “Puma is very passionate about helping young athletes to develop, especially the young athletes from the Caribbean. It’s coming up for renegotiation, and we are looking forward to continuing this relationship with Puma; it’s something near and dear to my heart.”
“With the help of Mr. Ball and his vision of a world class indoor track facility, we look towards the future, where every aspect, not just our training camp, comes home to Howard County. For what would be better than bringing international attention, tourism, jobs, and scholarship to our very own backyard?”
The East Coast International Track and Field Showcase
Founded in 2022, this annual international track and field event brings more than 1,200 high school athletes, more than 5,000 spectators and college recruitment coaches to Howard County for a week-long training camp. These world-class high school athletes come from across the U.S., as well as Canada, Haiti, the Cayman Islands, Belize and Jamaica. Following training camp, these track athletes will competed in the tournament at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex in Landover on May 4th.
Kemarrio Bygrave of Jamaica College (JC), who competed in the 800m and 4x400m, cherishes the moment: “Getting these opportunities to compete internationally and to show our talent is just a great feeling, to come and not just represent yourself, but your school and country.”
Aliah Baker, who is listed for the girls’ sprints, was glad to be in Maryland for such a high-caliber event. “This is a great opportunity to be competing with international athletes from all over because the only time most Jamaicans will get this opportunity like this is when they make the national team. So, this meet is a great opportunity for us to travel outside of Jamaica and get great competition.”
Excelsior High’s Damor Miller, who is a man of few words, sees this opportunity as “a nice experience competing with the rest of the teams.”
Shanoya Douglas of Muschett High School, one of Jamaica’s rising stars, is eager to use the East Coast International Showcase Meet to help her push for World U20 later this year. “It’s a great experience going against some of the fastest in America and pushing my body to the limit to see how fast I can run, to see how my training is preparing me for World U20. It’s an honor to be here, considered one of the best athletes to come here to showcase my talent.”
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