Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 10, 2016 (SKNIS): Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Sports, the Honourable Shawn Richards, said that St. Kitts and Nevis benefitted significantly from successfully hosting the 2016 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 cricket matches, as it had a positive impact on multiple sectors.

“You had several local persons who would have benefitted, be it the persons who were vendors, be it the local staff which had been employed by CPL, be it the groundsmen who were able to work overtime and in turn get a stipend from CPL for working with them,” said the Minister of Sports, while appearing on “Working for You” on Wednesday, August 10. “The local security services and a large number of other persons would have benefitted from such.”

Minister Richards made mention of factors that were discussed prior to the hosting of CPL T20.

“When we negotiated with CPL we also indicated that the Government is interested in receiving a donation of US$25,000 towards the St. Kitts and Nevis National Education Foundation (SKNNEF),” he said, while reflecting on the charity match in 2015 that was a part of the CPL matches and which saw US$10,000 being donated to the SKNNEF. “There was a symbolic handing over ceremony [of the US$25,000] held at the CPL finals on Sunday, August 07. We also negotiated with CPL to receive 25 percent of the gate receipts; at this point I can’t say how much that will amount to but at least I do know that the Government will get something coming out of that.”

He noted that earlier this year some 40 plus scholarships were distributed to students in primary and high schools and the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) in St. Kitts and also to the Nevis Six Form College as a result of the funds generated from the charity match. Minister Richards said that the aim is to reach more students this year in terms of the scholarships.

“An educational scholarship is such that you can’t exactly determine the benefit immediately because you are educating persons for a lifetime and the benefit of that cannot be quantified per say,” said Minister Richards. “Those persons will be able to positively give back to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis in future years and so that for me has been a success coming out of CPL.”

The Minister of Sports noted that other factors were looked at prior to the hosting of the CPL T20 semifinals and finals matches.

“We looked at the advertising of St. Kitts and Nevis as a tourist destination, in particular for sports tourism,” said the Sports Minister. “Certainly one cannot just look at the number of persons who would have been present at the venue here in St. Kitts and Nevis viewing the games; one must also take into consideration that the games were streamed across the world and you had millions of persons viewing. That in my view has been a success. Part of the hosting of CPL here also is to get more of our own people involved in cricket, not just the playing of cricket but also in the administration of cricket and that in my view took place during the hosting of the CPL Games here in St. Kitts and Nevis.”

The Deputy Prime Minister used the occasion to thank everyone who contributed to the successful hosting of CPL T20 2016. Such persons include the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis for making the decision to host the matches; the local organizing committee; the staff of the Department of Sports, in particular the groundsmen, who did an exceptional job in ensuring that the grounds were ready; as well as the patrons who turned out and supported all the games.

St. Kitts and Nevis hosted a total of 8 games, including the semi-finals and finals.

IMAGES:

Minister Richards (centre) presents Tournament Champions medal to Andre Mccarthy of Jamaica Tallawahs from CPL Chief Executive Officer, Damien O’Donohoe, (left).
Crowd shot at the final match between the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Jamaica Tallawahs on Sunday, August 07 at Warner Park in St. Kitts.