Chairman of the Cross Island Legacy committee Wayne Caines has urged the public to submit ideas for the future use of the land.

“We want Bermudians to have the ability to dream,” Mr Caines said in a talk at Hamilton Rotary Club on Tuesday.

Mr Caines delivered his speech, “Nine Acres of Opportunity”, at the Royal Hamilton Dinghy Club, and conveyed his objectives and ideas on the future of Cross Island.

“Ask yourself, ‘If I were given a clean slate, if I were given a magic wand, if I had the opportunity to create jobs in Bermuda, what would I do?’” Mr Caines said.

Mr Caines and the other committee members aim to give Bermudians a chance to voice their ideas and opinions about the upcoming project that can be “anything they want it to be”.

“Give our country something we can think of,” Mr Caines added.

The committee has called for the public to unify and communicate their concepts and schemes that will bring business and diversification to Dockyard.

Cross Island is reclaimed land situated in the Royal Naval Dockyard directly before the two cement silos. It will be used for the 2017 America’s Cup event village; however the chosen design from submitted ideas will be the new result after the 2017 America’s Cup is complete.

The Cross Island Committee is looking to get as many diverse ideas as possible from the citizens of Bermuda. Some 200 ideas have been collected, exceeding the goal of 150, but the Cross Island Legacy Committee is still coaxing the public to continue submitting ideas as the deadline is Sunday.

“Tell me where we have nine acres of land that we can put our country back on the map,” asked Mr Caines.

Mr Caines has also visited a Chewstick open mic session in an attempt to encourage the young citizens of Bermuda to present their ideas and become involved in what will be a positive legacy for both Dockyard and Bermuda.

The volunteer committee is supported by Deloitte Consulting, which is project managing the process, and the Wedco board will be responsible for reviewing and electing ideas to form part of a public request for proposal operation.

All suggestions can be sent to crossisland@deloitte.com, where people can express their plan in 100 words or less. The public can also log onto Facebook and forward their designs on the Cross Island Bermuda page or go to any local post office to collect a form and drop it off.