"Warrior" fans spend big money

TRINIDAD and Tobago is in the grip of World Cup football fever and the next best thing to seeing the TT Soca Warriors compete in Germany live, is to watch the games on large-screen televisions.

Warriors fans have been shelling out thousands of dollars to purchase television sets prior to this weekend’s start of the Finals, especially since this country’s football team will compete for the first time ever on football’s grandest stage.

Officials at the Airports Authority yesterday announced that football fans would not have to miss any of the Soca Warriors’ games since they have installed television sets at both Piarco and Crown Point International Airports.

Officials said 50-inch high-definition plasma sets have been installed at the departure lounges at both airports for the Warriors fans’ viewing pleasure.

Stores throughout the country have been reporting higher than normal demand for television sets with customers shelling out from $8,000 to $65,000 for large Plasma and Projection-type television sets.

At Brand Source Limited in Marabella, salesperson Susan Sookraj told Newsday the entire stock of 55-inch plasma screens — each selling at a price of almost $30,000 — were completely sold out.

Sookraj said 20 sets were sold in one week and buyers of these sets were mainly sports bar owners. She added that one customer purchased four 27-inch LCD plasma screens, each going for $8,995.

At DS Maharaj Limited in Marabella, supervisor Andy Kissoon said the most popular buy was the 57-inch High Definition Projection set for $16,000 which sold like hotbread.

Last week, he recalled, a customer walked into the store and said he wanted to buy a television set especially to watch the World Cup. The man, Kissoon said, walked out with a 42-inch plasma screen priced at $18,000.

A spokesperson at Courts Limited said their large 57-inch plasma screens sold out last week. Checks with staffers at several branches of Courts, American Stores and Standards revealed that there has been a steady purchase of televisions, DVD players and VCRs ahead of the World Cup.

Staffers at American Stores’ outlet in Mt Hope indicated all of their flat screen, plasma TVs had been sold out last month, but there were still other types of TVs on sale.

The story was the same at Standards’ stores in Port-of-Spain, where salesclerks reported a high demand for TVs over the last month due to TT’s participation in the World Cup.

Staffers at Courts’ Chacon Street branch said the only plasma screen TVs they had were those being offered through a $999 offer which will run for the duration of the World Cup.

Through this offer, members of the public will have the opportunity to win a plasma screen TV with any purchase of $999 and over at any Courts store.

The Warriors arrived at their Rotenberg base camp in Germany on Sunday and begin their quest for World Cup glory against Sweden in Dortmund this Saturday.