The government says it may sue the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) if it does not receive the over US$1 million it is owed for staging six Super Eight matches during the Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 tournament last year.
The sum of money the government spent to stage the CWC Super Eight matches is still to be revealed.
President Bharrat Jagdeo told the media yesterday that the government had written to the WICB about the money, which was collected as gate receipts, for entry to the ground. “They have our money and they are not paying us. We have written to them and if they do not pay us we are going to file a lawsuit against them,” he said.
Stating that the WICB was “sitting on our money”, Jagdeo said the money was what Guyana earned.
It is believed that the money was withheld on account of expenses incurred when the now defunct ICC CWC West Indies Inc had to pay an international contractor to complete overlay works for the staging of the event. This included the installation of the turnstiles and the accreditation and media centres among other things.
Asked how much money was spent to stage the matches, Jagdeo said he did not know the exact figure, but the government was in possession of the figures. He directed the media to the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony for the total.
Contacted yesterday afternoon, Anthony said the figures were not readily available. He asked that Stabroek News contact him at a time he suggested. Based on figures that were in the public domain it was estimated that the government spent in excess of US$56 million on infrastructural and other works which included the construction of the stadium and its environs, roads and bridges in and around the city, city enhancement and upgrading of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
Asked whether the investment in CWC 2007 had been worthwhile, Jagdeo said that it was significant. He said that the country’s hotel capacity was greatly enhanced; Guyana was better prepared to host larger events because of the experience gained from staging the world’s third largest sporting event; the publicity, especially among overseas-based Guyanese, augured well for visitor arrivals during the period and later on in the year; and it boosted Guyana’s image internationally.
He noted that having a stadium for playing cricket was an assurance that test matches would continue to be played in Guyana since the world-renowned Bourda sward could longer accommodate test cricket. He added that maintaining the stadium was a challenge since it needs “to work a bit more” to generate revenue. (Miranda La Rose)
