$72.4 Million Drive

Seventy-Two million dollars!

That's the projected cost of the Barbados Cricket Association's (BCA) expansive four-year Development Plan geared towards making Barbados' cricket strong again.

The plan is contained in a 58-page document prepared by the Earle and Phillips Consulting Group, a copy of which the DAILY NATION was able to acquire ahead of a BCA Press conference tomorrow at which the plan is to be presented.

Most of the costs are centred around the development of physical facilities which include the creation of an international cricket facility and a national cricket centre.

Those costs are to be about $68.5 million, while human resource development and institutional strengthening are estimated at $4.5 million.

The development plan has enormous resource implications . . . . The plan will require a reliable revenue source since the BCA cannot support these programmes from its present resources, the document said.

It will therefore need substantial support from its sponsors who must be encouraged to buy into these programmes in a meaningful way, not least of which is the Government, which is aware of the benefit of cricket to the country as a sport and as a tourism attraction.

The plan, which was presented to Government three weeks ago, has been accepted by the Owen Arthur Administration. Prime Minister Arthur disclosed this at a dinner to honour former Barbados and West Indies fast bowler Charlie Griffith on September 8.

BCA president Stephen Alleyne, in a foreword to the plan, said the success of the programme depended on the constructive support and partnership of the Government, private sector, media and other cricket administrators.

The Government will be encouraged to tackle the sport at the level of the school curriculum and training programmes conducted by the National Sports Council as well as to make financial and physical resources available to the sport, he said.

The private sector will be invited not only to make a financial contribution to the development of the sport, but to recognise that cricket has become as important investment opportunity.

When broken down further, the costs over the four-year period cover:

Modern international facility costs $63.7 million

National cricket centre costs $4.4 million

Barbados national squad costs $1.8 million

Excellence through cricket development programme costs $974 000

Club cricket costs $72 000

Marketing and stakeholder relations costs $200 000

Support expertise costs $181 000

Schools' cricket costs $100 000

Coaching and mentorship costs $59 000

The national centre, which will be located at Garfield Sobers Sports Complex, will include a cricket ground, pavilion, indoor nets, office, cricket library and museum.

The BCA is also seeking to create a modern world-class venue capable of staging events of the highest international level.

To this end, it plans to either outfit Kensington Oval to satisfy international standards or to develop a new ground by 2006.

And according to the plan, initial estimates indicate such a facility will cost between $35 million and $60 depending on whether existing facilities are upgraded or a new stadium is constructed.