By: Staff Reporter, SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ONE of the smallest cricketing venues in the Caribbean is currently under an EC$10M renovation which will bring it up to par with and surpass other leading venues in the region.

This was related to SKNVibes on Friday (29th Nov) by Sports Minister Glen Phillip, who took the media house on a tour of the Warner Park Cricket Stadium.

He explained that the modernisation is not only to attract the Caribbean Premier League Franchise but also to develop younger athletes who may want to learn the sport of cricket.

“What we intend to do from the Ministry of Sport is to start an after school programme within the schools and cricket is no exception to that fact. However, for our after school programme to be successful you must have light.”

The current renovation works when completed will see Warner Park fitted with lighting facility, advertising boards and other amenities reaching international standards set out by the International Cricket Council.

He told this publication that the lights, which would be completed installed in a few weeks time, would surpass that of the International Cricket Council’s standards.

“We in St. Kitts know that when the lights are installed they will exceed the lighting standards; even night Test is a possibility in St. Kitts.”

In explaining the project, Phillip stated that each lighting tower is 115 feet high with a concrete base about 30 feet deep and it took some seven trucks to fill one hole which in turn took about 20 days to dry/cure.

The Jumbotron, he explained, is 44X24 and is one of five in the cricketing world as well as the first one in the Caribbean region.

This modernisation, he added, is part of a long term project that the Ministry is looking at in terms of sports development on the island.

Another thing highlighted by the Minister is that the possibility exists for an increase in the stadium’s capacity.

Phillip stated that the stadium currently accommodates 8 000 spectators but its maximum capacity is 14 000. He also made reference to Kensington Oval in Barbados and Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad, both of which have bars around their mounds for safety purposes.

It was explained that upon completion the Warner Park Cricket Stadium would not only be used for cricket purposes, but it would remain a multi-purpose facility.

“What we tried to do recently is constitute a board to manage the affairs of Warner Park. On the Park we will also have music festivals, carnivals and other events,” Minister Phillip said.

He explained that the SIDF has chipped in to assist in funding the project and that the Ministry is currently exploring the possibility of disbursing sections to sponsors.

“In the past we had various companies who are interested in being a part of the Party Stand atmosphere and there was a school of thought that we might have to make two Party Stands,” he added.

When completed, the stadium will remain the top statistical venue in the region in the area of crowd support, whether it be male or female cricket being played there.

The contract for the renovation project was awarded to an overseas company, which was recommended by the governing body for cricket in the region, WICB, but most of the staff on site are locals.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S NOTE: A Jumbotron is a large-screen television  using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.sknvibes.com/news/newsdetails.cfm/82254