Transforming Kensington Oval

Cranes pivot above the modest Bridgetown skyline as they transform one of the Caribbean's oldest cricket grounds into a sleek, modern stadium - the premier venue for the region's first Cricket World Cup, to be held from March 11-April 28.

Local fans will be rooting for the West Indies team to reach the championship match at the expanded Kensington Oval in April.

But with more than 100,000 visitors expected for the largest sporting event ever in the region, Barbados and the eight other host countries have much more at stake.

To convert the spotlight into new investment and tourism, they are racing to finish construction on 12 stadiums, bridge a massive housing gap and fine-tune coordination across sovereign islands. In one all-purpose solution, more than a dozen cruise ships have been enlisted to sleep visitors and ferry them to matches in other countries.

If the 2006 World Cup of soccer highlighted the friendliness of the German hosts, tournament organizers in the Caribbean - a region already known for its parties - aim to show they can be efficient too.

Down the road from Kensington, the center of Barbados' seaside capital is getting a facelift, with a restored boardwalk and a new central park. Renovations to the airport, national roadways and other infrastructure have been fast-tracked to be finished by the tournament.

Despite the construction of several new hotels, the region is still well short of having enough beds available for the fans expected during what is already the high tourism season. Barbados, an island of 280,000 people with 9,000 hotel beds, is expecting 30,000 visitors at any one time during the tournament.

Cruise ships booked by sports tourism companies for Australian, South African and other fans will take up some slack. As many as 15 of the ships are expected to dock or anchor off Barbados the weekend of the final April 28.

The March 11-April 28 event, to be held in the Caribbean, is expected to attract 100,000 visitors to see 16 teams play matches in Jamaica, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Antigua, Grenada, Trinidad, St. Vincent and Guyana. Pre-tournament matches March 2-9.

Tickets and travel information available through http://www.cricketworldcup.com/ or 876-929-9011.

Source: Jamaica Gleaner