LOC gets high grade

St Vincent and the Grenadines facilities and processes for Cricket World Cup 2007 have been given a thumbs up by the International Cricket Council (ICC) venue inspection team – except for the double-decker stand.

From the swift processing on arrival at the E. T Joshua Airport to being whisked through rush hour traffic the ICC team gave high grades to the efforts of Local Organising Committee (LOC) for Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007.{{more}}

The 24-member team of various disciplines visited St Vincent and the Grenadines last Friday as part of their move through the Caribbean evaluating the state of readiness of the nine host venues which will stage matches in the mega event.

On completion, the LOC members were left tapping each other on the shoulder for a job well done so far.

“Our team gave rave remarks of the new players’ facility; in fact one of our team members said it is the finest he has ever seen,” said ICC’s Venues Development Officer Don Lockerbie.

“Our broadcast and media people had nothing than high marks for the new broadcast and media centre and that goes for the administration building as well,” he told reporters.

Lockerbie was especially pleased with the progress made on the outfields at Arnos Vale, Sion Hill, and Stubbs.

“We were very comfortable with the pitch and field, I was personally here last August and all you saw was the black soil and the black sand at the time, great news for us to see,” Lockerbie stated. “The training grounds are just as important as Arnos Vale; we need all the resources to make sure that Stubbs catches up to Sion Hill and that all three venues perform alike,” Lockerbie advised.

The development officer implored Vincentians to make a good impression as their country will be on television around the world while members of the foreign press will be here.

“I think that it is going to be a spectacular way for us to start,” Lockerbie said.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CWC, Chris Dehring, advised Vincentians not to rest on their laurels, after successfully crossing this first hurdle.

“We have to employ every ounce of energy, not just the organising committee, not just the government but it must extend to the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines. This is your event; this is your opportunity to demonstrate to the world just what CWC means to you, your managerial capabilities, and your ability to execute an event of this complexity,” he said, quickly cautioning that the venue assessment is only one part of the entire package – a point acknowledged by Chief Executive Officer of the LOC Michael Findlay.

The LOC boss identified the volunteer programme, security, hospitality and public education and the implications of the Sunset Legislation as some of the areas to get their attention in the coming weeks.

The team is expected back at the end of January, when Lockerbie hopes to give the complete thumbs up.

Just over EC $40 million is being spent on the upgrade of the cricket grounds, to host four official warm up matches by Australia, England, Zimbabwe and Bermuda from March 5 to 9, 2007.