(Barbados Nation) ST JOHN’S – The Caribbean will have an additional set of activities within the next year from cricket as the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) gets set to host a number of regional and international tours.
These tours will include the visits of South Africa and Australia for a One-Day International Tri-Nation series; Caribbean Premier League and the Indian tour in July; England early next year; and Pakistan thereafter; the cricket calendar is set to be active.
The last economic impact survey done from a tour of the region by England in 2014, reported considerable benefit to three countries in particular. The upcoming games will be hosted in a few more venues/countries and there is considerable expectation both from the fans as well as from the economies that will benefit.
The overall direct economic impact for the region was estimated at US$59.8 million at an average of US$5.1 million a day spend from the REPUCOM report generated-survey for that period “and we see where, with proper planning in place, we can generate more revenue and certainly greater interest”, says WICB President Dave Cameron.
Emphasising that the preparation of the winning Under-19 team was part of a comprehensive programme, Cameron is calling on Caribbean businesses and governments to “consolidate their efforts and invest in the rebuilding of the overall cricket programme. Now is as good a time as ever for public and private sector organisations to join forces with the WICB”.
Cameron noted: “The region is still celebrating with the young men who defined true Caribbean brilliance in executing a carefully crafted win over India in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup and wants the region to rally to show true support. This is the beginning of how we plan to seamlessly transition to the Cricket West Indies brand and the programme will be sustainable with the region’s support.”
The Board of Directors is set to meet the first weekend in March for its regularly-scheduled quarterly meeting. The Annual General Meeting with the stakeholders and shareholders’ representatives will also meet.
That group will approve the financial statements for the period, October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015. A full calendar of upcoming events will be announced shortly thereafter.
