THE PRESIDENT of the Trelawny Cricket Association (TCA), Phillip Service, says his organisation will be improving its management structure to bolster the marketing capabilities of the stadium being built for the ICC 2007 Cricket World Cup on the Greenfield site in the parish.
Service's comments follow an announcement from Prime Minister P.J. Patterson to hand over the management of the facility to a professional group after cricket's quadrennial one-day championship.
"We're committed to give whatever assistance is necessary to the managers of the complex after the World Cup," Service told The Gleaner in an interview. "We're strengthening our management in this regard."
Amid concerns to make the venue profitable, Patterson said the operators would need to implement innovative ways to make the place a money earner that transcended the borders of the cricket for which it is being built.
Service welcomed this stance, saying: "I'm particularly enthused in the Prime Minister's idea of utilising the stadium for not only sports but culture and entertainment, and we look forward to playing a role.
"We're working with the Jamaica Cricket Association and the better cricket ground will also provide a boost for the game."
The TCA chief also pointed to benefits the impact that hosting World Cup teams will have on the game in the parish.
"Certainly the fact that the cricket is closer, they (players) will be able to watch and be closer to the real stars ... just because of the broad nature of competing teams and hype that is connected to the World Cup. It's going to draw some interest. An important thing as well is to develop the other fields in the communities."
- A.B.
