SVG pulling out all stops to finish Double Decker

The Local Cricket Committee (LOC) is redoubling efforts to get the double-decker stand completed even if it means bitter medicine and tough decisions.

“We have several contractors on stand by. We are examining all the possibilities and will take decisions based on the best interest of delivering a Cricket World Cup facility with that pavilion completed,” Chief Executive Officer of the LOC Michael Findlay said.{{more}}

“That may mean some very unpopular decisions to some people, but as far as I am concerned I am not in this game for any popularity”, Findlay said forcefully.

First seen as a structure merely for legacy, the double-decker stand at the main Arnos Vale Playing Field has now taken on a greater priority to the LOC which indicated its plan to get tough with Gibson Construction, the contracting firm assigned to deliver the stand.

The LOC’s new stance came after the International Cricket Conference (ICC) inspection team expressed its total disappointment at the pace of progress of the stand, last Friday.

The incomplete stand was the major sticking point with the inspection team, which otherwise gave St Vincent and the Grenadines rave reviews of some of the other aspects of preparations.

“We have to be frank, we are disappointed in how it’s coming along,” ICC’s Venues Development Officer Don Lockerbie told reporters.

He called for a sense of urgency and made comparison with a similar facility at the Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica which he said has already had its seats in and the car park asphalted.

The double-decker, the largest structure in the renovation at the field has had several dates for its completion,

from the initial deadline of October 1 to December 1 2006 to the end of January 2007. Lockerbie said that the LOC has assured him that it will be ready in time for February 19 West Indies Cricket Board regional final.

“I will like to see it completed by the end of January,” Lockerbie stated.

St Vincent and the Grenadines is one of four venues which will host warm up fixtures ahead of the group stages of the CWC 2007.

The others are Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines will host matches involving Australia, England, Zimbabwe and Bermuda to be played at the Arnos Vale Playing Field from March 5-9 next year.

The Arnos Vale and Sion Hill Playing Fields are the designated practice facilities.