Cricket World Cup Experts Keep Wary Eye on Preparations in the Caribbean

Sports event experts hired to work on next year’s cricket World Cup in the Caribbean are bemoaning the complex structure of the event and expressing concern that there won’t be enough time to test new facilities.

Six new stadiums are being built for the sport’s biggest tournament, which will take place across nine Caribbean countries in March and April. Event managers, insurers, hospitality organizers and lawyers called it the biggest challenge of their careers and predicted preparations will run to the “last minute.” The concerns were raised as the International Cricket Council completes its final inspection of the venues for the March 10 thru April 28 tournament.

The four-yearly event, featuring sixteen of the world’s top teams, anticipates a global television audience of 2.2 billion with about 100,000 people traveling to the region just to watch the championship.

“The ICC are making their final and crucial assessment of whether the Caribbean is capable of and ready to host the Cricket World Cup to world-class standards,” said Chris Dehring, chief executive of Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007. “This is not what we want them to remember about the Caribbean.”

Local governments have chipped in about $250 million for the event. The governments of China, India and Taiwan have all helped bankroll new stadiums for the tournament, while the half a dozen existing venues are undergoing major renovation work.