All eight venues selected to host matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies have received the stamp of approval for their detailed stadium designs and operational plans for hosting the world's third largest sporting event.
The ICC CWC 2007 Inc Board of Directors at its meeting in St Kitts last week approved the issuance of the "Notice to Proceed" to the eight venues - Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago.
Following the award of matches on July 13, qualifying for the "Notice to Proceed" was the next major hurdle for host venues which had to satisfy the Board of progress in several areas that would indicate a clear transition from Bid Committee to Local Organising Committee (LOC). These areas include stadium and event overlay plans and construction schedules.Grenada had met all of the requirements for the "Notice to Proceed" based on the pre-Hurricane Ivan situation and have shown strong commitment to restoration within the required time frame.
Consequently, the Board has granted a conditional "Notice to Proceed", pending submission of further damage assessments and the plan adjustments required post-Ivan.
Managing Director and CEO, ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc, Chris Dehring noted: "We have seen commitment and a great deal of progress from all of the countries since the first Overlay Meeting in Kingston during the first week of August.
"In order to award the "Notice to Proceed", the Venue Development Department studied the stadium design plans and collaborated with each LOC on design changes to meet the requirements of the ICC, Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) and ICC CWC 2007 Inc before the construction phase." Dehring explained.
Venue Development Director Donald Lockerbie described the work of the LOC's and their stadium design teams collectively as "an excellent team in the making".
"The LOC's have some of the best architects in the region and some of the top sports architects in the world contracted to design state-of-the-art venues with the vital input of the knowledge of the game from cricket experts in each host country." Lockerbie noted.
