Monique Hepburn, Staff Reporter 
DEHRING
HOST COUNTRIES in the ICC's World Cup 2007 are being given the green light to commence the construction of stadiums, as the region recovers from the impact of Hurricane Ivan which destroyed a stadium in Grenada.
"Go ahead, build your venues, these are exciting times for the region because the opportunities for construction are quite substantial," said Christopher Dehring, managing director of Cricket World Cup 2007.
Dehring was addressing delegates at the Partnership Roles and Opportunities for Investors in Tourism (PROFIT) Conference at the Ritz Carlton, Rose Hall, yesterday.
"We will build back the infrastructure and we will host the cricket World Cup in every country that has been awarded matches," he added. "We have to act as if nothing
happened because we will have to deal with it move on."
The head of the West Indies World Cup machinery pointed out that with 885 days to go before the event, Caribbean nations stand to benefit from an estimated
expenditure of US$150 million in the
construction of new facilities.
DESIGN DETAILS
Dehring advised that with design details of stadiums ironed out. Following the notice to proceed with construction, West Indies World Cup will be embarking on a series of sales of commercial rights.
"We will be embarking on a series of sales because we have substantial commercial rights to be sold. And all of these commercial rights generate further opportunities," Dehring said, while adding, "the two World Cups - South Africa 2003 and West Indies 2007 - generated a guaranteed
television and sponsorship revenue of US$55 million and that is the economy that we are talking about."
As the third largest global sporting event, the ICC World Cup 2007 is
expected to attract one and a half billion fans worldwide. Over the coming months Dehring and his team will be filling gaps in their operations across the region and using Caribbean expertise where it is
available, he said.
