BCA cricket official eyes opportunities from T20 World Cup

By Sheria Brathwaite

A senior cricket administrator is projecting a business boom to vendors, taxi drivers and the hospitality industry with at least 20 000 people expected to descend on Barbados for the International Cricket Council T20 World Cup in June.

Steven Leslie, the Barbados Cricket Association’s Marketing and Communications Manager told Barbados TODAY that hosting the tournament would not only show the world what a small island state had to offer but create commercial opportunities for small business people.

He said: “At least… 20 000 people we expect to be converging and coming through Barbados between the June 2nd to June 29th period. Vendors will be able to ply their trade and benefit in a major way. Think about Oistins, think about Baxters Road, think about all of the persons who will be able to put together Barbadian cuisine; cuisine that will really showcase the true Barbadian culture such as pudding and souse.

“Beyond that, there is transportation. You’ve got a lot of taxi operators and there may even be some people who emerge and drive taxis for that month [and they too will be able to earn]. So the point is that Barbadians will benefit and have the unique opportunity to give transportation, catering, and hotel rooms.

“We have a hospitality sector that is accustomed to hosting a number of people on the island and there will be a wide cross-section of ethnicities and nationalities that will converge on Barbados and we will be able to cater to them. We have West Indian cuisine and we’ve got a cuisine that can cater to anyone from Europe.”

Last November, Barbados received a US$25 million (BDS$50 million) loan from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to upgrade Kensington Oval, cricket’s Caribbean Mecca to prepare for group matches and the final.

Leslie said that the work to upgrade the facilities was going well, adding that it was expected that all the deadlines will be met in time for the June event.

“Barbados was given nine matches – eight matches plus the final,” said the BCA marketing and communications manager. “So what happens now is that Barbados has to ensure that we have deliverables that are met. My understanding is that March 31st will be one such deadline when the actual infrastructure with the floodlights and other areas around Kensington will be put in place. You are going to have a total renovation of the washrooms and the different suites that are available at Kensington. So it will be a complete transformation from that standpoint. The critical part of any cricket event is the pitch and field [and they will be prepared to the highest standards].”

Leslie continued: “But then we’ve got three other venues. We’ve got the 3Ws Oval over at the University of the West Indies [Cave Hill campus], which is going to be used as a practice venue along with the Windward Cricket Club in St Philip and the Police Cricket Club in St Michael. So we have that wonderful game being played at Kensington and those other three venues will be brought up to grade to be able to hold those practice sessions”.

Leslie said the hosting of an event of this magnitude was a “wonderful victory for Barbados” having hosted two international cricket World Cups, the 50-overs World Cup in 2007 and the 2010 ICC World Twenty20.

“We have the opportunity again to showcase the wonderful hospitality that is on the island,” he said. “When the bid process was done, it would have been a process of all of the Caribbean islands being involved and also some territories within the United States of America.

“Barbados has been given this wonderful opportunity to host the grand final along with eight other matches. There will be five preliminary matches, of which Australia versus England is one of those matches, which is on June 8th, and that is going to be a huge influx of tourists for the island. Then we have three super eight games where the best teams will qualify into that series and then the grand final, which is being played on June 29th.”

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb