Hosting legacy
Editorial
Stabroek News
May 14, 2007
A complete assessment of the impact of the cricket world cup on Guyana and the country's performance in meeting its obligations, targets and expectations will require a longer period though were one to wait on those in charge for any considered analysis years may go by.
Consideration of the financial side of the operations is not the purpose of this editorial save to say that the government's reaction to a recent report in this newspaper estimating the total cricket expense at US$54M and probably more did not encourage the public's anticipation that the government would do a detailed study of the Guyana experience or commission one apart from the one planned by the University of the West Indies.
Where hosting is concerned we are on record as saying that the nine hosts and the region as a whole triumphed in their running of the tournament considering the dizzying array of logistical issues and the fact that there were no major disruptions.
For its part, Guyana hosted six of the super eight matches and while some of the contests had lost their lustre because of the exit of India and Pakistan the country can hold its head high. It managed to host the matches efficiently with creditable turnouts and no known problems in relation to the airport arrangements, accommodation of teams, transportation to and from facilities, drainage of the stadium, the pitch, the outfield or security on match days. That in itself was an impressive achievement and puts the country in pole position for the hosting of some of the matches of the Champions Trophy.
Plaudits must be extended to all those who participated in the conceptualisation, planning and execution of the Guyanese bid and performance right through to the last game. President Jagdeo, the three ministers of sport during the period, the Local Organising Committee, Messrs Karan Singh and Walter Willis, government officials, the security services, the hotels that hosted the teams and officials, the businesses that participated in the many contracts and the volunteers can all feel a great sense of pride in this major achievement.
What is now needed is a plan to harvest the benefits of the international exposure Guyana attained and to make optimum use of the infrastructure that was purpose-built for the games.
The one major blot on the entire enterprise was, of course, preparedness for the first match day. To have the ICC/CWC resort to the extreme measure of inserting GL Events to finish off what should have been done more expeditiously caused embarrassment to the country and called into question whether those in charge had understood the gravity of the occasion.
This was an international tournament. Not the variety of an under-19 competition played in the three counties. There could be no compromise about being ready. The ICC/CWC could not take possession of the stadium in February as had been planned and there had even been assurances that all of the stadium work would be completed by the end of 2006. This was not to be. The blunder was akin to planning a general election and two days before polling the body overseeing the process was yet to get voting materiel to all parts. Maybe the failing was unsurprising as major projects here invariably fail to meet deadlines.
There was no starker manifestation of the rush to be ready than the outward appearance of the stadium. Until one entered the stadium proper, it presented the grey vision of a huge monument abandoned in the desert. Its exterior was dusty and unfinished and no-one had seized the initiative to round up the now many landscapers to position hundreds of pots of foliage and blooms to enhance its appearance.
The stadium is the enduring symbol of the world cup campaign and has not come cheaply. Concerns have already been voiced about the maintenance cost for this and how it will be funded. We hope to see shortly a well thought out and aggressive plan for the maximum utilization of the stadium so that it doesn't just simply sit amid the silence in this former East Bank cane field. The same can also be said for the Turkeyen convention centre.
Questions have also been raised about the stadium design and how even US$100 ticket holders were left at the mercy of the elements. Is there adaptation work that can be done? In this respect, it is disappointing that the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers was shunned in its effort to assess the design and inspect the construction work. We urge the authorities to consult with the local engineering fraternity on the stadium and its future.
The bottom line, however, is that Guyana will go down in the record books as having successfully hosted six of the super eight matches at the 2007 instalment of the prestigious cricket world cup.