Preparing to welcome the world

The 2007 World Cup is just 18 months away and the Caribbean is in the midst of preparing for an influx of 16 international teams and all the travelling support that goes with it. The man in charge of bringing everything together on time is Chris Dehring, managing director and chief executive officer of West Indies World Cup 2007. He spoke to Andrew McGlashan about the challenges of staging the event and the legacy it will leave behind.

How are the preparations going for the 2007 World Cup?
We are right where we expected to be at this moment. Last week we had a number of presentations with our leading partners and also with the ICC and they are very pleased with our progress.

A number of the stadia set to host matches are being rebuilt or renovated. Will they all be finished on time?
All our stadiums are on target for 2007. Some may be finished a bit before the event and some a bit after, and by that I mean finished to their final standards. The aim was never to have them all completed by the World Cup, some are planned to finish in time for the Test series which follows in June. But, yes, as far as the World Cup stadiums are concerned everything is on track and we are confident it will all be ready come March.

What are the main areas that are being redeveloped?
What you have to remember is that, except for a few, all the stadiums date back as far as 1928 and hadn't undergone a total redevelopment during all that time. We want to create state of the art sporting facilities for all the different parties who will use them - players, spectators and media. That is what we are doing at the moment with five brand new stadiums, while the others are being extensively modernised to a point where they will seem almost brand new. We are also creating 20 top-level practice and training facilities for the event so overall there will be 32 sets of facilities.

How are you planning to cope with the influx of fans, especially from countries like England and Australia with large travelling support?
We are striving to have as many beds available in the Caribbean as possible and are offering incentives for people to develop more rooms for the event with a major accommodation drive. However, you must remember that the Caribbean is a major tourist destination even without the World Cup so we will never be able to cater for everyone's exact requirements every time, but there will be enough room on the islands for the visiting supporters.

Will you be using cruise ships as accommodation as has been tried in the past in the Caribbean?
A number of tour companies will be offering cruise ships as accommodation during the event, and we feel that fits well with the image of the Caribbean. For other events around the world using a cruise ship may not seem right, but we feel it goes along with the style of Caribbean life and will be a great part of the event.

Do you hope that the tournament can help give a new impetus to cricket in the Caribbean, which has gone through an extended slump?
We certainly see the World Cup as a major part of a rebirth. Many people have been talking about the death of West Indian cricket, with the competition it now faces from other sports, but I certainly don't see it like that. Last year, during the Champion's Trophy in England, as the match was coming to an end and it looked as though the West Indians might pull of the victory, I can tell you the streets of Bridgetown, Kingstown, Port-of-Spain were all deserted. People were glued to TV sets and when the winning runs came they celebrated widely. West Indies cricket is a sleeping giant and hopefully the World Cup can awaken it.

Are you planning to try and tap into the American market?
We certainly are going to target the USA, not only the cricket fans who are going to travel over for the tournament itself but also those Americans who will be over anyway, and our early figures show that there will be a high number of them. This allows us to introduce a whole new market to cricket through Caribbean life and especially through the way that we celebrate life and our cricket.

What experience and lessons are you taking from previous World Cups?
Prior to drawing up our 2007 blueprint we visited a number of world events and looked at how they had been organised. We followed closely what happened during 2003 in South Africa and had a delegation out following the organisation. But, the bottom line is that no mega sporting event has ever been staged across nine countries which is what will be happening next year. While we have a large team involved in the tournament, with extensive international experience, it is the knowledge of the locals which is just as vital in preparing for this event.

Even though teams are being based on certain islands to help with planning, do you still see the logistics as being a major issue?
The logistics of using nine different countries is always going to cause problems but we are confident that the plans we have put in place will ensure everything runs smoothly. That is why we have placed countries on certain islands, so that supporters know where to base themselves for the early part of the event.

Will the strength and success of the West Indies team have a bearing on how successful the event becomes?
We can have a successful World Cup as far as the planning, preparation and running is concerned, whoever wins. But for it to be a spiritual success I think we need a successful West Indies team. I am hopeful this will happen, too, because there are some systems being put in place which I am confident will see a competitive team develop before 2007.

How will 2007 differ from other tournaments and surpass them?
As organisers I can say the event will not only be an equal of, or better than, anything that has been staged before but also very different and showing all the best that the Caribbean has to offer. From the cricket in the daytime to the nightlife and Caribbean lifestyle, 2007 will be a celebration.