Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

The remains of billboards and stands at the Edward Seaga Sports Complex after the passage of Hurricane Dean on Sunday. - anthony foster

Former premier league champions, Tivoli Gardens, were dealt another major blow in their quest to kick off the Wray and Nephew National Premier League season, with the Edward Seaga Sports Complex suffering major damage after the passage of Hurricane Dean.

Twenty-five ravaged billboards, damage to the complex's major buildings, which include the bar and clubhouse, are just some of the issues that the premier league team will have to deal with before even thinking about hosting games for the new season.

In addition to those setbacks, the complex also suffered damage to the newly renovated East stands, half of which lay close to the middle of the pitch when Star Sports visited the location.

"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," Tivoli Gardens president and former Prime Minister Edward Seaga explained.

"The structure which held the billboards in place cost millions of dollars and the three Eastern stands had just been put in the other day," he added.

"As for the clubhouse 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."

The damage done by 'Dean' was certainly an unwelcome sight for the club, already struggling for financial viability. In fact, the start of the season, which is set for September 16, may have already been delayed as the newly formed Premier League Clubs Association, for which Seaga is the chairman, is locked in a battle to secure critical corporate funding for the new season.

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

"We have a solid prospect for sponsorship, which will give us a good start and give us substantial backing, but we are still tending to that now," he added.