Providence draws largest CWC spectator turnout to date
By Miranda La Rose
Stabroek News
April 6, 2007
Sunday's match between the West Indies and Sri Lanka at Providence saw the largest turnout of spectators - some 12,000 - in any host venue for any match in the CWC 2007 tournament to date and already some 11,000 tickets have been sold for tomorrow's game.
Tomorrow's match featuring Bangladesh and South Africa, according to LOC Chairman and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony is expected have the second largest turnout at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence. The sport minister was speaking to the media at a press conference yesterday.
Spectators include a number of school children from Regions Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands), Four (Demerara/ Mahaica), Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne) and Ten (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) for whom the government would be meeting the cost of tickets. Other young people, including many from hinterland regions, the Kuru Kuru skills centre on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway; the Scouts Association of Guyana and some orphanages would also be given the opportunity to view the match.
Meanwhile, a number of local companies including Courts and Demerara Distillers Ltd have sponsored some members of their staff as well.
Tickets are still available for tomorrow's and Monday's matches and could be bought at the perimeter box office at the stadium. Persons who also bought tickets online may uplift theirs at the same box office.
Noting the poor turnout at various venues around the Caribbean, including Guyana, Dr Anthony said that many factors contributed to that, including the substantial price increase in airline tickets to the region during the current period. He noted too that some thought the travel and hospitality packages were too high. The early exit of Pakistan and India during the early stages of the tournament and the performance of the West Indies before and during the tournament "might be" contributing factors, he said.
Dr Anthony believes that Guyana's spectator support would have been influenced by the LOC's consistent appeal for local support through the media here in particular, since the influx of overseas-based spectators did not materialise in the numbers predicted. "By and large our regular meetings with the local media worked out," he said. On the other hand he felt other venues might have concentrated on more overseas marketing, which might not have had the desired results for various reasons.
Lowest hotel rates
LOC Chief Executive Officer Karan Singh said the hotel rates were hiked in many other host venues but Guyana was offering the lowest rates. Hotel rooms in Barbados and St Lucia were on average US$500 a room per night with occupancy rate at 60%, he said, while the average rate in Guyana was just above US$200 with the rooms in major hotels being sold out.
Singh said the prices of the tickets were decided by various stakeholders including the ICC, the CWC, Caricom, and the regional governments. He said higher prices had been suggested but the argument remained that they were dealing with the Caribbean and there was the issue of affordability. Singh feels the current prices charged are affordable.
He said 90% of the ticket sales in each host venue would go to the host, while the remaining 10% would go to Cricket World Cup.
In terms of some spectators not being able to get transportation, having not booked flights in advance such as the Irish fans who never felt that their team would have made it to the Super Eight, Singh said they had appealed to regional carriers to assist. While they would have, the additional flights might not have been sufficient because the Guyana LOC had to engage Roraima Airways to transport some of the Global Cricket Corporation broadcasters from Jamaica. During the current period, he said, there are about three or four regional flights coming into Guyana daily.
Effective drainage
Noting the performance of the pitch and the outfield of the cricket ground at the stadium during the matches following heavy rains, Dr Anthony said it was as a result of the engineering skills of the builders who provided a very effective drainage system. Had the matches been held at the Georgetown Cricket Club Ground, Bourda, he said, they would have been postponed with the recent heavy rainfall.
He cited comments of the coaches and players, who have found conditions on the ground favourable and the fact that history has already been recorded at the stadium with Sri Lankan player Lasith Malinga achieving not only the first hat-trick of the tournament, but also being the first bowler to record a helmet trick with four wickets in four consecutive balls in the history of the ICC CWC tournament and the first at any international level. Anthony contended that breaking Malinga's record would take some time.
He noted also that Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya made the first century at Providence and Guyanese Shivnarine Chanderpaul made the first half century for the West Indies.