Jamaica
News - Real Estate - Sports
Source: India eNews, March 3, 2007)
Profiles of the cricket World Cup
venues
A total of 12 venues will host cricket World Cup matches beginning March 13 with
a West Indies-Pakistan clash at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. However,
practice matches begin from Monday.
The opening ceremony will be
held at the Greenfields Stadium in Trelawny, near Montego Bay, Jamaica, March
11. The final will be played at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, April
28.
All 51 matches of the 49-day
tournament are day affairs.
Following are profiles of the
12 venues:
Kensington Oval (Bridgetown,
Barbados)
MATCHES: Final and six Super
Eight matches.
PROFILE: The historical
Kensington Oval was closed down after the end of the 2004-05 season and
completely demolished to make a new stadium at a cost of $135 million for the
World Cup. Home to the Pickwick Cricket Club since 1882, the stadium has a
seating capacity of 28,000. The venue is steeped in history as it hosted the
first England touring side in 1895 and the first combined West Indies side
against the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1910-11. It was also the scene of West
Indies' first Test match in 1930. The stadium is just 600 yards from the coast
and has grown into one of the most impressive venues in the Caribbean. The
pitches at Bridgetown are generally fast and bouncy, but they might have changed
character.
Sabina Park (Kingston,
Jamaica)
MATCHES: First semi-final, the
opening match and five other first-round matches.
PROFILE: The historical Sabina
Park is home to the Kingston Cricket Club and is well known for its fast and
bouncy pitch. But that was years ago. In recent years, the surface has slowed
down, despite repeated attempts to restore its old character by re-laying it on
more than one occasion. In terms of size, it is a relatively small stadium, but
like other major grounds in the Caribbean, it also underwent major renovation
recently. The seating capacity has been raised from 15,000 to 21,000. The
breathtaking Blue Mountains -- home to the world famous Blue Mountain coffee --
forms a spectacular backdrop. Sabina Park's greatest moment was an unbeaten 365
by Sir Gary Sobers in a Test against Pakistanis in 1957-58.
Beausejour Stadium (Gros Islet,
St Lucia)
MATCHES: Second semi-final and
six first-round matches.
PROFILE: It is situated on the
outskirts of the tourist resort area of Rodney Bay in the north east coast of
the islands. The stadium is one of the Caribbean's newest major venues that was
completed in 2002. In 2006, it became the first ground in the West Indies to
stage a one-day international, against Zimbabwe, under the floodlights.
Constructed on 22 acres land, the stadium can hold 20,000 spectators. The
capacity includes 18 hospitality suites. It also has a modern pavilion.
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
(Antigua)
MATCHES: Six Super Eight matches.
PROFILE: The stadium is named
after the island's most famous son, former West Indies captain Sir Vivian
Richards, and replaces the Antigua Recreation Ground as the major international
venue in this island. The ground is dominated by two large stands, the
five-story southern section housing the pavilion as well as corporate suits. The
northern side hosts the media box. The architects wanted the venue to retain a
more casual Caribbean flavour by having terraces on the eastern and western
sides. The seating capacity is expected to be around 20,000 and the design in
many ways is similar to the Warner Park in St Kitts.
Queen's Park Oval (Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago)
PROFILE: It is considered as
one of the most picturesque of the old grounds and is also one of the largest
with a seating capacity of 17,000. The old pavilion was built in 1896 and has
been the home of Queen's Park Cricket Club since then. It remained unchanged
until 1952 when it was replaced by a two-tiered structure. It has been described
as a classic ground with picturesque backdrops, most notably the northern hills.
Like most grounds in the Caribbean, Queen's Park Oval also underwent a facelift
ahead of the World Cup.
Providence Stadium (Providence,
Guyana)
MATCHES: Six Super Eight
matches.
PROFILE: Located in Providence,
about nine kilometres south of Guyana capital Georgetown, the stadium has three
major stands and a grass mound that can accommodate 4,000 people. The overall
capacity is around 16,000. The stadium has been built with approximately $30
million, with much of the funding coming by way of loans and grants from India.
National Cricket Stadium (St
George's, Grenada)
MATCHES: Six Super Eight matches.
PROFILE: The ground's
metamorphosis from a basic venue to an international one came about as part of
the region's build up to the 2007 World Cup. Grenada has benefited greatly from
the investment. Around $5 million have been pumped into the ground that can
accommodate 17,000 people. The stadium, which is next to a football and
athletics ground, has changed the face of the game in Grenada. The presence of
St George's University, which is now home to the West Indies' Cricket Academy,
has also helped in making the ground a high profile one. It became the 84th Test
venue in 2002 when West Indies played New Zealand.
Warner Park (Basseterre, St
Kitts)
MATCHES: Six first-round
matches.
PROFILE: It was the first of the
Caribbean's seven new World Cup stadiums to become functional when it staged its
one-day international in May last year, and the first Test match a month later.
The stadium has been largely funded by the Taiwanese government, which provided
$7.1 million of a total $10m spent on the venue. The stadium was built entirely
by locals and not like many other stadiums that took help from Indian and
Chinese labourers. It is not a big ground and can accommodate 10,000 spectators.
Not surpassing, given the fact that the island itself has a population of only
35,000 people. The eastern side of the stadium has been left vacant to allow the
prevailing easterly wind to leave its cooling effect.
Warm-up matches will be played
at the following venues:
Arnos Vale Sports Complex
(Kingstown, St Vincent)
PROFILE: The renovated
world-class venue is to be opened before the World Cup starts March 11. The
picturesque ground is situated between the E.T. Joshua Airport and the Caribbean
Sea. The additions to the ground, mainly on the eastern side, features a
two-tier stand that can accommodate more than 5,000 spectators. There is also a
four-tier media centre, a four-storey venue operations centre and a two-floor
pavilion. The stadium has a seating capacity of 12,000 spectators. The biggest
match will be a warm-up clash between Australia and England March 8.
Three Ws Oval (Bridgetown,
Barbados)
PROFILE: This stadium, two
kilometres away from the historic Kensington Oval, has been named after
legendary West Indies players Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes and Sir
Clyde Walcott, and is situated at the centre of the Cave Hill Campus of the
University of the West Indies. The sculpture in the shape of three large wickets
at the edge of the field attracts attention. The Oval has been totally
overhauled and can accommodate approximately 4,000 spectators
Greenfields Stadium, (Trelawny,
Jamaica)
PROFILE: Formerly known as
Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium Complex, the Greenfields Stadium is located some
40 km east of Montego Bay. It was built as a 'gift' to Jamaica by the Chinese
government last year. After no country bid to host the opening ceremony for the
World Cup, the Jamaican government stepped in and the construction work for the
new ground was started in November 2005. An almost entire team of Chinese
labourers involved was in the project that finished in June last year. It has
10,000 permanent seats but the capacity can be raised to about 25,000 using
temporary seats.
Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground
(St Augustine, Trinidad)
PROFILE: The ground is
situated inside the campus of the University of West Indies and was given a
$1.5-million facelift for the World Cup since it was allocated the warm-up
games. It can accommodate 17,000 people.
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