$100M for World Cup Cricket

Government is planning to spend some $100 million to prepare the country for World Cup Cricket 2007, Sports Minister Roger Boynes said yesterday. This money will be spent over the next  three years. He also announced that approximately $22 million would be spent to upgrade the Queen’s Park Oval, which will stage some of the matches. Although it is privately owned, Government will pump $8 million while the Queen’s Park Cricket Club will contribute $14 million into the upgrade. Saying that it was debated in Cabinet whether Government should be helping a private institution, Boynes said Queen’s Park Cricket Club was giving the venue “free of charge” to Trinidad and Tobago during the World Cup. He said therefore Government agreed that the $8 million (in financial support) could be justified. He was speaking at a post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall.

Boynes said all participating countries would be benefitting from the gate receipts up to the tune of US$40 million. Such revenues collected would therefore offset some of the cost involved in preparation for the games, he noted. Trinidad and Tobago has been selected as one of the eight finalists to host events for the Cricket World Cup.  The event is expected to take place at eight different venues. The country will know on Tuesday what package it will get. Among the major packages are the opening ceremony and the finals. Saying that Government was preparing Trinidad and Tobago to accept any package that it is given, Boynes noted that Cabinet had selected four persons to attend next Tuesday’s ceremony in Jamaica.

They are the Minister of Sports, his Permanent Secretary, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board of Control and the Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner to Jamaica. He said Government had also agreed to establish a Local Organising Committee (LOC) which will look after the planning and managing of all events assigned to this country as well as the security, hospitality and entertainment for all teams, international media and visitors. He said Government would be owning 100 percent shares in the LOC.