Tender system for W/Cup 2007 venues

ICC Cricket World Cup WI 2007 Inc. has developed a tender process in order to identify which of the Caribbean countries are willing and indeed able to deliver the contractual obligations to the ICC for hosting matches during the CWC 2007.

In order to do this fairly, it was determined by the CARICOM Prime Ministers’ Sub-Committee on the Cricket World Cup and endorsed by the Heads of Government that an independent, professional and unbiased assessment of all interested venues should be performed. That is the essence of our tender process. In our case in the Caribbean, our “venues” are in fact “countries” and general support infrastructure in the country becomes as important as actual cricket stadiums so these too must be assessed.

The contractual obligations, standards and technical specifications required by the ICC Host Agreement will be detailed in our “Bid Book” for the benefit of all countries interested in hosting matches. As agreed with the CARICOM Heads, these Bid Books will be delivered to the Heads of Government so that there is a “national commitment” to do what is necessary. What we will be aiming to do in the Bid Book is to set the minimum standards that countries/venues must attain in order for them to be able to host varying levels of matches in 2007 (ie requirements for a final vs a group stage game.) After seeing what is required, countries will then have the opportunity to apply or “bid” to host matches and inform us as to what they have and or how they intend to meet the requirements in order to host the games. Having received the country’s bid, an independent Venue Assessment Team (the VAT) made up of experts in venue assessment with previous world games experience will visit each prospective host and perform a technical assessment. Their report and recommendation will then be used by the Board of the ICC CWC 2007 Inc. to allocate the matches purely on merit.

While the eventual tournament format to be decided by the ICC will determine the number of matches and consequently the number of venues required, we estimate that six to eight venues will be required. The Bid Book will be divided into 18 sections which are considered necessary to host matches, including information from countries on their cricket stadium, airports, marinas, hotels, transportation, security etc. There are also areas where countries can use their creativity in proposing special events which could help make this Cricket World Cup memorable in a way only West Indians can. The bid will also be the opportunity for individual countries to highlight their technical resources and abilities.