Natalie Neita-Headley, minister without portfolio with responsibility for sports, in the Office of the Prime Minister, hopes the recently refurbished Stadium East facility will contribute to the success of Jamaica's athletes ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.

"It's the year when we are going to be shining in London, and I believe that this facility will offer our athletes who are now training right here at home an additional facility to have proper preparation for London," Neita-Headley told Star Sports.

"It (track) doesn't come at a small price, but I am extremely pleased and I am looking forward to more development of our athletes," said Neita Headley, during a brief ceremony at the venue, where she disclosed that the cost of the work done is $42.9 million.

The minister also told Star Sports shortly after the reopening of the track yesterday, that she was impressed with the repair work carried out by Independence Park Limited (IPL) through German manufacturing firm BSW Regupol.

"It has been long in coming and I am very happy that it has been completed and I expressed my thanks and my congratulations to all who were involved and I call on the athletes to take care of it."

Dr Warren Blake, president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association, was also pleased to have the facility available.

"I am very pleased to see this new surface and also the fact that it did not take a great deal of time in the laying down, and so it did not put a dislocation in our track and field season," said Blake.

"Now that we have got this track we have to take care of it because athletes have to remember to use the right spikes for this sort of surface," continued Blake, who is also chairman of the Sports Develop-ment Foundation (SDF).

"Their spikes must not be longer than six millimetres because if they use the long spikes like the ones that they use on the grass track, it is just going to tear up the track and shorten the life span of the track."