A top Grenadian athletics official said his country have not decided if they will host next year?s Carifta Games.

Speaking as Grenada continues to mount a massive rebuilding effort following the devastation of Hurricane Ivan a month ago, chairman of the Carifta Games? organising committee Alvin Clouden said a decision was forthcoming on the issue.

?We haven?t taken a decision as yet. The NACAC (North America, Central America and the Caribbean) area office, through vice-president Keith Joseph, visited Grenada two weeks ago to look at the facility,? said Clouden in an interview with the Nation newspaper in Barbados.

?There was a meeting of the Grenada Amateur Athletic Association (GAAA) and they discussed the issue, but a decision will be made next week.?

The Caribbean island?s national stadium ? one of the newest and most modern in the region ? was wrecked by the category four storm, leaving its proposed staging of the annual Easter weekend junior athletics classic in grave doubt.

Reports have been circulating that the GAAA has decided not to host the meet because it would not be in the best interests of the Spice Isle which is struggling to get back on its feet after the September 7 hurricane during which an estimated 90 percent of residential properties were destroyed or damaged.

Among the reasons cited were the lack of sufficient hotels, a lack of sponsorship because most of the businesses were either hit by the hurricane or looting and obviously the state of the national stadium.

?I am not aware of that,? said Clouden, denying the report?s veracity.

The stadium sustained extensive damage along with the neighbouring cricket facility, both of which were constructed at a cost of US$30 million. The roof, photo-finish booth and the electronic scoreboard have all been damaged severely. While the track appears to have escaped relatively unscathed, it is littered with debris.

Clouden said the organising committee were scheduled to meet again soon and a decision should be made by next week.

Grenada hosted a successful Carifta Games in 2000 and followed that up with the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Seniors Track and Field Championships last year.

The country was also slated to host the second leg of the 2004 West Indies One-Day cricket tournament which starts on October 16 but are unable to do so, forcing the West Indies Cricket Board to change the tournament format.