Chris Dehring (left), International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 managing director shares a joke with Don Lockerbie right, the ICC's CWC's Venue Development Director during the ICC CWC 2007 Venue Summit VIII press conference at the Hilton Hotel in Kingston on Friday, March 10. - IAN ALLEN
BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS, (CMC)
With less than one year to go, Chris Dehring has admitted that the 2007 ICC World Cup has become a much bigger event than planned, but believes the Caribbean will deliver on its promise of staging "the best Cricket World Cup ever".
March 11 next year is the date for the opening ceremony of the World Cup, and it will take place at a newly-constructed stadium in the northern Jamaican parish of Trelawny.
The opening match of the tournament comes two days later, and will be taking place at a renovated Sabina Park in the Jamaican capital, where West Indies face Pakistan.
NOT WHAT WE BID ON
"I would say there is no doubt that the event that we bid for back in 1998 is not the event that we will eventually have," remarked Dehring in a wide-ranging interview with CMC CricketPlus.
"The CWC did grow exponentially. When the Global Cricket Corporation bought the commercial rights, the event grew from a tournament which was held in England in 1999 to one of the world's major sports events that South Africa helped to really blossom three years ago.
"So it is a responsibility that we collectively took the decision to continue. We went to the Caribbean governments and we explained the situation to them, and it was unanimous. There was not even a second of hesitation.
Dehring added: "The CWC is an opportunity to show the World the resources of the Caribbean, not only from a tourism perspective, but from a managerial perspective and the wider human resource perspective.
"Our ability to deliver an event of this magnitude would speak volumes for competing in a global environment, so we need to examine the CWC for what it is and ensure that we deliver.
FAITH IN THE CARIBBEAN PEOPLE
"Have we bitten off more than we can chew? I do not believe so and I have a lot more confidence in the people of the Caribbean than many people internationally have in us."
Recent statements from St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves about the increased costs and requirements for hosting the event have made headlines around the region.
Dehring however, rejected the notion of costs spiralling out of control, and believes there are some that are connected to the legacy side of the event.
"For instance, SVG, as a warm-up venue, would never have had to embark on the kind of construction programme that they have to upgrade Arnos Vale," he said.
"This would not have been a CWC consideration, request, or requirement, but SVG, in their own wisdom, have decided for the legacy portion to upgrade their facility, so there are issues like this that always have to be separated.
"There are major construction projects being embarked upon across the region which - yes - have been accelerated because countries wanted them to be ready in time for the CWC."
Many Caribbean people believe at this stage that hosting the World Cup will benefit people from outside of the Caribbean, and taxpayers in the region will be left with a large bill , but Dehring disagrees with such sentiments.
"All major events have an international element to them which is what brings significant benefits, and they have a very heavy local component to them which is what creates a special flavour and local benefits," he said.
"The CWC 2007 will be no different. The benefits will be shared across the region and across the World. We are hosting on behalf of the international cricket community and we have to ensure that the international cricket community participates in it.
"People must remember this is an international event, we are the host and many people are benefitting from it and participating in it, and we are very excited about it."
Dehring noted it was an intense period of operations for the organisers, as they were busy executing the plans that that have spent years developing.
"Clearly, it's a very busy time for all of us around the region," he said.
"The local organising committees are all fully wrapped up in getting the job done, and this includes, of course, venue development.
"This area is the most obvious form in which people can measure the level of activity across the region with all the concrete and steel coming out of the ground, and there is a buzz of activity at all the match venues."
Dehring said there were several other operational requirements for the staging of the event that had to be put in place though.
"Things like catering, venue merchandising, travel, internal transport, hotel accommodation, and so there are a whole host of activities taking place simultaneously," he said.
"Overall, we are quite happy with where we are. There are many challenges that remain, but everyday counts, and everyday we are coming up with solutions for those challenges."
Dehring feels the World Cup will be successful because he was confident that the Caribbean people would be able to rise to challenge and deliver it.
"Everyone must feel a part of it, and it must be a shared responsibility," he said.
"Everyone - from the airport worker to the hotel worker to the taxi driver - must feel that their performance will impact on how successful the World Cup will be."
The 2007 ICC World Cup will be contested between March 13 and April 28 next year, with a total of 51 matches taking place in eight Caribbean countries.
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