World Cup profits pull Windies out of the red

By IANS

Kingston (Jamaica) : Profits from the 2007 Cricket World Cup are expected to pull the debt-ridden West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) out of the red.


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The additional money will provide a boost to the game's development, revealed Kenneth Gordon, WICB's outgoing president, in a media release Tuesday night.

"The profit from the event will eliminate the deficit of the WICB and this augurs well for the future of West Indies cricket," he said.

Gordon said ticket sales at the 2007 tournament were the highest ever in the history of the World Cup.

"We sold more tickets (672,000) than the last two World Cups in South Africa (625,000) and England (476,000) and garnered $32 million in ticket revenue which the International Cricket Council (ICC) has told us is the highest gate ever," elaborated the WICB chief.

Gordon praised the organisers while admitting that lessons were learnt and unanticipated events provided an extra challenge.

"The fact that we were able to effectively deal with the challenges is a credit to the excellent work and high quality of the management team. The staging of the Cricket World Cup was an experience we all take great pride in," he added.

Gordon also felt the World Cup was a boon for sports infrastructure in the region.

"Thanks to our governments, we now have 12 world-class cricket stadiums and 22 practice facilities for the further development of West Indies cricket – built on time and to specification."

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