Dr. José Joaquín Puello Herrera, president of the Dominican Olympic Committee, held a press conference at the Gran Hotel Lina to explain the plan of Olympic Committee to secure the site of the Pan Am Games for year 2003. Dr. Puello Herrera insists that the impact of the Games will be very positive. Furthermore, he again points out that the country has the sufficient number of votes to win the first Pan Ams of the next millennium. He explained the campaign to get the site centers around the slogan, "Santo Domingo, Heart of the Americas." Dr. Puello Herrera has traveled the Americas seeking to win the necessary votes. He feels he leads the other strong contenders for the site – Guadalajara (México) and Medellín (Colombia). He said a major forum on the Pan Am Games, the investment and the impact of these on Dominican society will be held in September. In his opinion, the games will cost RD$782 million pesos, but the nation will reap upwards of RD$900 million in returns. He said it would cost the state RD$200 million to condition the existing sports facilities for the games, and that the renovations would be included in the 1999 budget. The government has already begun an aggressive program to repair sports installations at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center. The Palacio de los Deportes (basketball) is now under renovation, with works slated to be completed by next month. Furthermore, works are advanced on the Olympic Pool, and are underway at the velodrome, softball and baseball fields, among others. Streets, sidewalks are also being reconstructed. Dr. Puello concluded that the investment would be similar to that made by Puerto Rico when the Games were celebrated in San Juan in 1976. He insists the country will reap a positive impact three times the value of the investments and expenditures made. Dr. Puello Herrera is also president of the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization known in Spanish for its acronym ODECABE.
