The Dominican government spent millions to refurbish the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center for the Pan American Sports Games in July 2003. Nevertheless, for the Pre World Basketball Championship to be held here in August, the government will again invest millions in the installation. Frank Herasme, president of the Dominican Basketball Federation, said that Fiba-Americas officials that inspected the venue said that major improvements were necessary, from changing the flooring to the external illumination, the plumbing, and the electricity system. As reported in Diario Libre, Herasme blamed the deterioration on the many non-basketball events that are held at the air-conditioned arena and whose organizers do not pay the government money enough to keep up its adequate maintenance.
The Virgilio Travieso Soto Sports Palace is probably the Dominican sports facility that has been remodeled the most by different governments at billionaire costs to taxpayers and never with a tender called for the remodeling.