May 4, 2006

Sir Vivian Richards Stadium Gets An ‘A’

May 04th 2006 Posted to World Cup 2007

Months of hard work has finally paid off for the team at World Cup Antigua Inc. ICC CWC 2007 Local Organising Committee (LOC), as the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium/Grounds received an ‘A’ grade from the visiting ICC Venue Tour team last Wednesday.

”From what we have seen here today, a tremendous amount of work has been done since we were last here in March and I can tell you that Antigua & Barbuda will for the first time get the highest ranking. We are very pleased with the work we have seen here, they are on schedule. The Chinese partners and their Antiguan counterparts are working not only fast but they are producing good quality work not only the stadium but also on the surroundings,” said Don Lockerbie, ICC CWC 2007 Chief Operations Officer and Venue Development Director.

Dispelling rumours that the new facility will lack the character of the world-renowned Antigua Recreation Grounds, he added that the retaining walls, on the east and west sides of the stadium, will give a casualness and inviting atmosphere to the new stadium. Antigua has been given the Red package that will feature some of the biggest games, he noted, and, “from what we have seen today, the ICC will see that this was the right decision”.

The only area of concern to the visiting team is the consistency of the practice pitches and those at the new cricket ground.

”We are working closely with the grounds staff at all three sites and, as you can imagine, they all have different work styles. However, we need the pitches to be consistent and play in a similar manner. We are not asking that all the pitches at all the venues play the same but the practice pitches should not be so different from the venue pitch,” explained Lockerbie, disclosing that their next big test will be in June and July when the LOC holds some practice games.

Reacting to the thumbs-up which his Host Venue received, Venue Development Coordinator of the Antigua Local Organising Committee (LOC), Sheon Samuels, said “this is not a surprise to us here”.

“But it is tangible evidence that we are working well and on schedule to meet all our obligations and the ICC requirements as these relate to the stadium and its environs,” he added.

The Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Grounds is one of 12 new venues being built or renovated across the Caribbean to host ICC CWC 2007.

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