T Cozier: Time To Move From Kensington (19 Jul 1998)

19 July 1998

Time To Move From Kensington

Tony Cozier

For one reason or another, I've had to spend a few mornings recently at Kensington Oval.

Each time, as I looked around the famous, old ground, my mind fast-forwarded to the year 2007, to the World Cup that has been awarded to the West Indies. Each time, the realisation became clearer that, even with eight years leeway and even with the Barbados Cricket Associations (BCA) phased plans for upgrading, Kensington will hardly be suitable for the demands that will be placed on it for such an event.

Each time, a particular fantasy of mine that has already been aired in this column emerged of a spacious, modern, fully-equipped, floodlit, new stadium, somewhere well away from the crush and confusion of urban Bridgetown, with easy access from the ABC Highway, catering primarily, but not only, to cricket but to football, shows and open-air concerts as well.

It is a vision that has already been acted on in Grenada where such a venue is under construction in time for next years Australian tour and will be a powerful bargaining chip when the West Indies Board comes to allocate its plum World Cup matches in 2007. Anguilla, Dominica, St. Lucia and the Cayman Islands are following suit and, with the lure of the World Cup and an increase in the annual number of One-day internationals, so will others. Unless we move fast, Barbados will be left behind.

It is a delusion to think that Kensington will retain its most favoured status simply on the strength of its great history and Barbados exalted cricketing reputation. The fact is that its limitations have long since been obvious.

As is repeatedly demonstrated for Tests and One-day internationals and even last season in spite of the construction of the new Mitchie Hewitt Stand overall accommodation remains inadequate.

The seating, even in the bottom deck of the brand new stand, comprises mainly hard, bottom-biting, wooden benches. Toilet facilities have been improved but still leave a lot to be desired while respectable dining areas and food stalls are lacking.

Parking is virtually non-existent and entrances are tight and confusing. Its location, squeezed in between the cramped, depressed slum of the Orleans and the business side of Fontabelle, leaves no space for meaningful outward expansion. Even with the addition of new stands on the eastern side, the capacity cannot be comfortably raised from its current 12 000 to the 20 000 to 25 000 that is the BCAs aim. And, of course, there are as yet no floodlights.

So where do we go from here? How do we put into action such grandiose plans as starting from scratch on this 21st Century dream?

In his recent annual report, BCA president Tony Marshall has acknowledged that such a move would be a wonderful achievement (but) at the moment it just seems outside our scope unless funding is made available from other donor agencies.

It is a well-taken point. The sale of the 341 000 square feet of prime real estate that constitutes Kensington would certainly bring in a handy sum but the BCA cannot do it on its own. Government and the private sector would have to be significantly involved, regarding it as a major investment.

Undoubtedly the first questions from those whose sights are forever trained on lurking white elephants is whether it is necessary at all, whether the $25 million or so needed to finance it wouldnt be a waste of money we cant afford and whether it will be properly utilised.

There are a couple of answers.

One is that any meaningful further enhancement of Kensington is going to be almost as costly as moving. Already $5 million has been spent to build a new stand holding 2 500 and an ill-designed media centre that now needs costly alterations to put right. The BCA will be looking at almost three times that amount to complete its improvements by 2007.

Another was provided by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) report that estimated spending of US$29 million over 11 days by the 8 300 tourists who were in Barbados specifically for this years island and Test matches. And this did not include the subsequent One-day internationals.

The potential for a World Cup, with 12, possibly even 16, countries involved makes that look puny. For a start, accommodation capable of holding at least 20 000 would be necessary for an England v West Indies or England v Australia match in Barbados.

The Cup apart, sizeable numbers are already anticipated for the Australians tour early next year, the South Africans in 2001 and, of course, whenever England come again. They do not want to arrive and have to sit out in the sun in temporary seats, as was the case last season, or have their vision obstructed by the 30-odd posts that, for some strange reason, are on the bottom deck of the Hewitt Stand.

Patently, such restricted annual episodes alone cannot fully maintain the venture.

International visits would have to be supplemented by floodlit, properly promoted inter-territorial matches, a regular four-way tournament (as suggested earlier, involving Barbados, the two limited-overs county champions from England and either Bermuda or Canada), the rental of hospitality boxes and function rooms as is now being so profitably done at Kensington as elsewhere and, not least, open-air concerts and club and international football.

Cricket traditionalists will throw their hands in the air and blow steam from their ears at such a blasphemous thought.

Yet, prior to the erection of the National Stadium, Kensington hosted football, cycling and track and field and, until even more recently, field hockey as well along with events as diverse as calypso and beauty contests and church assemblies.

All Australian Test grounds, some of the finest in the world, entertain football during the off-season without damaging their cricketing purpose.

Surely the calypso finals and other big shows would be better staged, and policed, at a well-appointed venue with comfortable, civilised seating for all rather than the present claustrophobic jam of the 28-year-old National Stadium.

It would, naturally, be a pity to lose Kensington with its great history and tradition. But, on the edge of the 21st Century and with a World Cup at hand, its time to move on.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)