By Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - SportKINGSTON CRICKET Club (KCC) president Errol Ziadie warned the Jamaica Government against building "another White Elephant" at the club's annual dinner and awards ceremony at Sabina Park on Saturday night.
At the ceremony which paid special tribute to West Indies Test captain and club member Jimmy Adams, Ziadie explained the club's ambitions in regards to hosting major matches in the 2007 World Cup of cricket.
"There is a committee appointed by the Government to deal with the whole issue of World Cup 2007," Ziadie told the audience. "I was appointed to that committee as president of Kingston Cricket Club ... and the KCC members appointed a sub-committee of their own to deal with the issue of World Cup 2007 and Sabina Park.
TENDER DOCUMENTS
"We have only just received the tender documents for which governments - based on their tenders - will be awarded the various packages of matches which are to be played in the Caribbean.
"We are obviously vying for the best," he said. "We would like to get the final or the semi-finals or the opening match which they determine will attract somewhere in the region of 35,000 people - we presently hold 15,000 - so a lot of changes have to be made.
"There are other entities that are trying to inveigle the powers that be to have a newly-constructed venue somewhere in Trelawny. We don't need another white elephant. That over there," he said pointing in the direction of the rarely-used National Indoor Sports Facility at the Independence Park complex, "is a white elephant and it is true that this (Trelawny complex) would also become a white elephant."
A massive upgrade of Sabina Park would be required to host a major World Cup match and that would obviously require great government assistance, but Ziadie said the KCC was not for sale.
"The Kingston Cricket Club is 140 years old ... I promise you one thing, I will never sell the birthright of this place to any government
whatsoever.
"So, as soon as a proposal (from the government re hosting Cup matches) is made to us - the sub-committee - you will be informed. You, the membership, will make the decisions."
Prior to Ziadie's speech, erudite and witty guest speaker Dr. Aggrey Irons told the club it had to start the build-up to the 2007 Cup now and work with its neighbours.
"You need to form coalitions with your neighbours. You are going to need your neighbours' land in order to save your clubhouse," Irons said. "Also, you are going to need some gifted architects ... who are going to design a structure which will not become a shameful waste after a while."
