Brian Lara Stadium not to be used for World Cup

No play will be possible at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba for the warm-up matches of the World Cup 2007.

But CEO of the local organising committee (LOC), Anand Daniel, stated that this country will still host those matches which will be shifted to either the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva or the UWI ground in St Augustine.

With ICC and Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) inspectors, headed by ICC CWC's venue development director Don Lockerbie, bearing down on Tarouba for thorough and decisive inspections today, from 8:45 a.m., the "Lara", part of the PNM's planned $850 million elite sports complex at Tarouba, is likely to receive the thumbs down from the ICC inspectors.

"The Brian Lara Stadium is unlikely to be ready enough to be handed over to the ICC by November 30," Daniel admitted. "The ICC inspectors are coming with their construction experts and they know from the weather patterns and from the comparison with other regional venues that we are several months behind and so, it is very unlikely that we will be able to catch up, if not impossible."

On Tuesday, Lockerbie reported that the rain had been "devastating" to the progress of the construction of the Stadium, and that the ground was in danger of losing its status as a pre-tournament venue. The threat is now reality.

The bane of the completion of the project, which is being overseen by the Urban Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago (UdeCoTT), has been inclement weather and a prolonged delay in the delivery of steel.

The LOC thought they had made up for the continued postponement with their first contingency plan -the use of temporary seating to be provided by France-based GL Events. But the insurmountable delays at the project site in Tarouba have meant that, although the pitch and outfield are ready, no foundation has been laid for the temporary seating to be supplied by the French company that has provided such facilities for Olympic and World Cup events in the past.

"Any kind of temporary structure needs a structure, a foundation to be laid on," Daniel explained, "and that base is unlikely to be finished. Also, we should have placed the orders for those (temporary seatings) now because they will take a few months to arrive. But with the deadline for ordering equipment coming at the end of September, the rain has played havoc and it won't make any sense now."

However, their second alternative plan, which Daniel said was accepted with "satisfaction" by Lockerbie and company, will see the warm-up matches, to include Pakistan, South Africa, Canada and Scotland in January and February next year, shifted to the NCC and the UWI Ground.

"He (Lockerbie) is very comfortable with our contingency and strategy," Daniel explained. "I think if we didn't have an alternative that the CWC would have realised there was a bigger problem and we would have been in some trouble."

But is the LOC disappointed that the Brian Lara Stadium will not be a World Cup 2007 warm-up match venue?

"No, it's not a disappointment," Daniel said. "We have always felt it would be difficult to finish in time given the rain and the other delays. Of course it's a disappointment for the country but the positive thing is that it will be easy to move those matches to the other venues and so, we will still be able to host them here."

After visiting Tarouba, the ICC inspectors will travel to the tournament venue, Queen's Park Oval, at 2 p.m., before touching down at the other two T&T practice venues-the NCC in Couva and the UWI Ground in St Augustine. Those venues have already received the "thumbs up" from the ICC officials. The next stop for Lockerbie and company is Antigua.

The assessment team toured Barbados on Monday and were in Grenada on Tuesday. They will be in Jamaica to visit Sabina Park on September 13. They will also complete an inspection of the Greenfield Stadium project in Trelawny, in the country's north-west, on September 14.