ICC CWC 2007 Official Ticket Centres open for business!

ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc. Managing Director & CEO, Chris Dehring, meticulously completes his ICC Cricket World Cup Ticket Application Form in Kingston, Jamaica, as ICC CWC 2007 Official Ticket Centres opened for business, at left, Commercial Manager of the Jamaica Local Organising Committee (LOC), Roxanne Morris, looks on © ICC

A variety of ceremonies marked the openings of ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 Inc. Official Ticket Centres throughout the tournament's nine Host Venues earlier today.

This followed yesterday's (May 1) successful online launch of Public Ticketing on the www.cricketworldcup.com website which, as of 3.30 p.m. Eastern Caribbean time today, had accepted more than 5000 applications from 65 countries.

Buoyed by the heartening response to the online start, Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis and Saint Lucia were among the regional Host Venues which welcomed the public with formalities - ranging from a live television broadcast to brief ribbon-cutting events - before commencing business for Public Ticketing: Phase 1 - Application.

In Grenada, the first three persons to apply were wheelchair-bound Niela Duncan as well as Michael Gellineau and Grenada Local Organising Committee (LOC) CEO Roy O'Neale. A former cricketer and umpire, Gellineau said that "as someone who loves and enjoys the game" he was thrilled to have an opportunity to view the Cricket World Cup in his homeland. The Spice Isle will host six Super 8 matches from April 10-20 in next year's Event.

Over in Saint Lucia, there was a hive of activity at the Cable & Wireless office in Gablewoods Mall Outlet where that country's Official Ticket Centre is located. Minister of Education, Human Resource Development, Youth and Sports Mario Mitchel opened the premises in a ceremony which also featured brief speeches by LOC CEO Ernest Hilaire and Cable & Wireless Vice President of Sales, Deborah Barley. The first person to complete a Ticket Application Form was Aide-de-camp to the Governor-General, Captain Syril Saltibus.

Wheelchair-bound Niela Duncan was among the first applicants at the ICC CWC 2007 Official Ticket Centre in Grenada. © ICC

Addressing the opening of Antigua & Barbuda's Official Ticket Centre, Cricket Operations Manager for that Host Venue's LOC, Martin Cave, assured that he and his staff were ready to serve all those desirous of applying for Cricket World Cup tickets.

"We are expecting a huge demand from local cricket fans as they come and apply in person for a ticket or package. We have made the Ticket Centre very user-friendly with an area to sit and fill out your application. We have also put up posters that will walk them through the application process," he noted.

"Our customer service representatives (CSRs) and volunteers will be on hand to assist persons with filling out the application form. This is an incredible time for us as most people don't believe anything is happening unless they know the ticketing process has begun."

Jamaica's LOC opted for a quiet opening attended by ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc. and LOC staff in addition to the media and other invited guests. ICC CWC 2007 Managing Director & CEO Chris Dehring took the opportunity to put in an application for some Venue Combination packages after which he presented keys for the facilities to Official Ticket Centre Supervisor Judith Lue.

"I have family and friends who will probably want to attend matches so, just like everyone else, I need to put in my application and hope that I am among those persons who are allocated tickets," he stated, filling in another segment of his Ticket Application Form.

ICC CWC 2007 Managing Director & CEO, Chris Dehring (right), chats with Indian visitor, Badaravada Venugopal, who went to the ICC CWC 2007 Official Ticket Centre in Kingston, Jamaica, to submit his Ticket Application Form © ICC

Indian visitor to the island, Badaravada Venugopal, provided an interesting twist to the morning as he arrived to submit an application. The Hyderabad resident, who moves on to Trinidad & Tobago tomorrow, explained that he saw LOC officials on television speaking about Public Ticketing and then saw the Official Ticket Centre's downtown address in a local newspaper and decided to come and apply.

"I want to see India play next year. I'm definitely coming back once I receive my tickets," he vowed.

Trinidad & Tobago's Minister of Sport, Roger Boynes, paid a courtesy call to one of the three Official Ticket Centres in that Host Venue at the Hasley Crawford Stadium in the capital Port of Spain. He was greeted by LOC officials and was delighted to have the application process explained to him and to receive the Ticket Brochure containing the application form. A customer service representative then demonstrated how applications are processed.

In Barbados, proceedings progressed smoothly as well following a live broadcast, shown on CBC-TV's "Good Morning, Barbados".

ICC CWC 2007 Commercial Manager Stephen Price, who is in Barbados for the launch of Public Ticketing, reported that "things are going well across the region...complementing the equally good start of the online programme yesterday (May 1)".

"We are pleased with the response of the entire region to the Ticketing programme and we look forward to the coming months. Putting all of this together, across nine different countries, would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the LOCs. They have done significant work to get the Ticket Centres ready and in their respective public-education campaigns to sensitise people about what to expect."

"What we have recognised in the past few days is just how much attention the regional public has paid to the information on Ticketing. So much so, that we have seen Host Venue territories ranking highly in the list of 65 countries from which online applications have come so far. Barbados is ranked fourth in the number of applications received globally while Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago are sixth and seventh respectively."

Price also lauded "the spirit of volunteerism" being exhibited by a number of persons who are giving their time freely to lend assistance at Official Ticket Centres across the Caribbean.