News Americas Now, New York, NY, Monday, February 9, 2015-The awarding of a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 franchise to St. Kitts and Nevis is a clear sign of confidence by the organizers in the ability of the local government and sporting fraternity to host world class events.
That was the message of Senior Sports Officer Vernon Springer as he reflected on the recent announcements by CPL management to have a franchise based in the twin-island Federation as well as the agreement to host six neutral CPL matches at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium. This is in addition to the four matches for the home team and the charity match which features the Prime Minister’s XI versus the Sir Ian Botham’s XI.
Springer stated that the monies spent by the government over the past two decades to upgrade key infrastructure such as roads, utilities, communications and health system coupled with the modern sporting facilities that were recently constructed and updated, make St. Kitts and Nevis an attractive venue for international sporting and entertainment occasions.
The upgrades included several new installations at Warner Park, with energy-efficient lighting by Qualite Sports Lighting. “A Dream Project.” That’s how Raj Walia, Chief Executive Officer of Prabha International described his work on the Warner Park Lighting and Visual Media Project.
Through Qualite Sports Lighting, “we designed a twin pole lighting system [that] does not exist anywhere in the world,” Walia revealed, while giving an overview of the project. “This lighting pole has 75 lights or fixtures on it, each delivering 2,000 watts of energy. When all four poles are in full effect they deliver 3,700 lux of light on the wicket. I don’t know any other grounds [that] have that.”
To illustrate how bright the lights are, Mr. Walia dubbed it as “daylight at midnight. Warner Park lights have a CRI (Colour Rendering Index) of 92,” he explained. This “means if the sunlight is 100, you (will) have 92 percent (of that) light in the middle of the night.”
Nick Page, Qualite Sports Lighting President, states “We’re excited for everyone in St. Kitts as this is a great opportunity to host international events. We’re honored to have been involved with the Warner Park Stadium project.”
Minister of Sports, the Honorable Glenn Phillip, was quoted in a press release as saying “CPL delivers huge benefits to the Federation with US$26 million injected into the economy during last year’s hosting of CPL …” He added that “we see the hosting of the neutral games, alongside having our new team, as a massive opportunity for St. Kitts and Nevis, and we are delighted to be welcoming all of the CPL teams to the Warner Park Stadium once again.”
The matches are expected to take place over a nineteen day period from late June to mid-July. The exact dates will be announced shortly. It was also disclosed that the franchise will be an existing one that will be relocating its home base. Locals will have the opportunity to participate in selecting the team’s name in an interactive format yet to be revealed.
