{"id":246544,"date":"2026-01-15T07:43:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T11:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/?p=246544"},"modified":"2026-01-15T08:40:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T12:40:31","slug":"progress-on-preparations-for-the-2026-central-american-and-caribbean-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/2026\/01\/15\/progress-on-preparations-for-the-2026-central-american-and-caribbean-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Progress on preparations for the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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President Luis Abinader says extraordinary progress has been made by the Organizing Committee for the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026. The games are scheduled to be held 24 August to 8 August 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following receiving updates from the committee, he noted that it is clear that preparations are currently ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Everything is moving at the rhythm we expected, even with a significant buffer,” Abinader stated, calling on the Dominican people to begin engaging with the promotional phase of the games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jos\u00e9 Monegro, president of the Organizing Committee, reported that the renovation of sports venues, athlete housing, transportation, and security protocols are all advancing rapidly. These efforts are under continuous inspection by Centro Caribe Sports, which has already dispatched three oversight commissions to verify compliance with international standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Organizing Committee says a record 6,220 athletes from 37 nations are expected to attend the event that celebrates the 100th anniversary of the regional sports games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Organizing Committee explains that while Santo Domingo East\u2019s Mirador del Este and the Felix Sanchez Olympic Center sports complexes will host most disciplines and the sports villa accommodations, events will be spread across the country, including sailing in Peravia, soccer and cycling in Santiago, golf in Punta Cana, and rowing in Monse\u00f1or Nouel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of April, the official torch rally will be visiting every province in the Dominican Republic as a warm up to promote the public attendance and following of the summer games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that the renovations for the 2026 Games will deliver the country\u2019s F\u00e9lix S\u00e1nchez Olympic Stadium upgraded to Category 1 certification, which would qualify the Dominican Republic to host a World Athletics Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, in the same Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center, the Virgilio Travieso Soto Sports Palace is being modernized to meet international standards for high-level basketball, including potential NBA preseason matchups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, a new urban park is being developed along the Santo Domingo Malec\u00f3n to host contemporary sports such as skateboarding and roller sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority of events will take place in the National District and Santo Domingo province, primarily divided between its two major sports parks that were originally respectively built for the 1974 Central American Games and the 2003 Pan American Games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center (National District)
    This is the heart of the games and will host the highest concentration of disciplines.
    \u2022 Athletics (Track & Field): F\u00e9lix S\u00e1nchez Olympic Stadium.
    \u2022 Swimming, Diving, & Artistic Swimming: Olympic Center Aquatics Complex.
    \u2022 Volleyball (Indoor): “Ricardo -Gioriver- Arias” Volleyball Palace.
    \u2022 Combat Sports: The Taekwondo Pavilion (currently under renovation) will serve as a unified venue for 5 combat sports: taekwondo, karate, judo, wrestling, fencing.
    \u2022 Softball: Olympic Center Softball Stadiums.
    \u2022 Track Cycling: Olympic Velodrome.
    \u2022 Basketball: Virgilio Travieso Soto Sports Palace.
    \u2022 Racquetball: Racquetball Pavilion.<\/li>
  2. Parque del Este (Santo Domingo East)
    \u2022 Gymnastics (Artistic & Rhythmic): Gymnastics Pavilion.
    \u2022 Weightlifting: Dr. Jos\u00e9 Joaqu\u00edn Puello Pavilion.
    \u2022 Table Tennis: Table Tennis Pavilion.
    \u2022 Handball: Handball Pavilion.
    \u2022 Archery: Parque del Este Archery Range.
    \u2022 Tennis: National Tennis Center.
    \u2022 Field Hockey: Parque del Este Fields.<\/li>
  3. Other Locations in Santo Domingo
    \u2022 Shooting (Clay & Precision): El Hig\u00fcero Shooting Range (Santo Domingo North).
    \u2022 Skateboarding & Skating: The new “Urban Park” plaza on the Santo Domingo Malec\u00f3n (seafront).
    \u2022 Equestrian: Palmarejo Equestrian Center in northern Santo Domingo.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Sub-venues (in the provinces)
    These disciplines have been moved to the interior of the country to utilize specialized natural environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Santiago de los Caballeros
      \u2022 Football (Soccer): Cibao FC Stadium (located on the PUCMM university grounds).
      \u2022 Mountain Biking (MTB): Circuits within the Santiago province.<\/li>
    2. Ban\u00ed (Peravia Province)
      \u2022 Sailing: Confirmed for the coast of Ban\u00ed (utilizing the area’s wind conditions, likely near Los Almendros beach or Salinas).<\/li>
    3. Bonao (Monse\u00f1or Nouel Province)
      \u2022 Rowing & Canoeing: Rinc\u00f3n Dam (Presa de Rinc\u00f3n).<\/li>
    4. Punta Cana (La Altagracia Province)
      \u2022 Golf: Golf courses in the tourist zone (traditional hosts of PGA tournaments, such as Corales).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Read more in Spanish:
      Presidency <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      15 January 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      President Luis Abinader says extraordinary progress has been made by the Organizing Committee for the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026. The games are scheduled to be held 24 August to 8 August 2026. Following receiving updates from the committee, he noted that it is clear that preparations are currently ahead of … <\/p>\n

      Read more\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[340,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246544"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246544"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246556,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246544\/revisions\/246556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}