CATEGORY:SPORTS
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By Wallace J (Inside Grenada correspondent)



GRENADA – ICC World Cup organizers are of the opinion that the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, south Trinidad will not be ready in time for the 2007-cricket extravaganza. The stadium, with a projected seating capacity of 15,000, was expected to be used to host warm-up matches involving Pakistan, South Africa, Ireland and Canada ahead of the games, which begin on March 11, 2007.

The construction work on the facility is currently behind schedule and venue inspectors have concluded that the facility would not be completed on time. This means that the scheduled warm-up matches will now have to be moved to an alternative venue on the island.

Earlier on this year, many Grenadians, as well as some persons from neighboring countries, were of the view that the Grenada National Stadium would not be finished in time for CWC (Cricket World Cup) and were suggesting that Grenada’s matches be given to another country. This was because the construction of the Grenada stadium was behind schedule.

Over the past few months, however, the Chinese workers (who are in Grenada working on the stadium) as well as local construction workers, were able to double-up on their efforts to meet the schedule. At present, the Grenada National Stadium, which will have the capacity to seat 17,000 persons, is on schedule and will be completed on time for the matches beginning in March next year.

The Queen’s Park Oval, located in Port of Spain, Trinidad, will also have the capacity to seat 17,000 persons. This facility will be ready for CWC and will host Group B matches involving Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Bermuda. In all, cricket games will be played in 12 stadia in 9 Caribbean countries over the duration of the World Cup games.