As mentioned earlier, empty stadiums & ticket prices:
Tournament pays price for greed
Simon Wilde
Embarrassingly small crowds, even for West Indies games, have shown up the organisers’ ignorance in making tickets far too expensive
CRICKET’S administrators have had a poor couple of weeks. Apart from the shocking death of a World Cup coach and the possibility that it was linked to attempts to “fix” aspects of the tournament, the event has failed chronically to draw crowds throughout the Caribbean.
The big idea behind awarding the World Cup to the West Indies, plainly a gamble given the logistics of staging it across several territories, was to revitalise cricket in places where it is in grave danger of being overtaken by rival attractions.
Aside from the uncomfortable questions left by Bob Woolmer’s murder, poor crowds must concern Malcolm Speed, the head of the International Cricket Council, and Chris Dehring, who runs the World Cup organising committee.
Ticket prices may yet be reviewed; a public appeal from Brian Lara, the West Indies captain, for more people to turn out cannot be discounted.
Speed, who was in Guyana on Friday to watch England play Ireland in front of fewer than 3,000, says he would like to see more tickets available at the lowest end of the price range, but even these, at $25 each, are too much for many West Indians, especially in Guyana.
Speed’s second move, if people still fail to turn up, would be to reduce prices further, or even give tickets to schoolchildren. “No one wants to see empty stands,” he says.
But ticket pricing is strictly not under Speed’s control. The ICC was asked its views before the competition, but the ultimate power lies with Dehring’s team, in consultation with the local organising committees, and at most venues the minimum cost was set at $25. But Speed may be tempted to call for an emergency review.
Not even West Indies matches have drawn capacity crowds. In Antigua, for the game between the hosts and Australia, the holders, the turnout was an embarrassment, and things weren’t much better when West Indies faced New Zealand. Ironically, the only match sold out in advance was the expected clash between India and Pakistan in Barbados, but neither side made it through the group stage. The ICC was keen for a strong showing from the smaller teams, but their improvement has come at a price, because neither Bangladesh nor Ireland is likely to prove a drawcard.
Crowds are likely to be bigger in Barbados, where England will have many travelling fans, but there is a serious issue here for the ICC. One-day tournaments raise huge sums through television contracts, but the public has been slow to respond to the idea of attending matches not involving their country. The neutral match, in fact, has never been more out of fashion. Two years ago England scrapped its triangular one-day competition, and a similar change is in the offing in Australia.
Ground authorities have ignored this and continue to set their prices high out of greed and an optimistic view of public interest, while many hoteliers have demanded grossly inflated prices in the belief that overseas visitors would turn up come what may. Most have voted with their wallets and stayed away.
Financial greed is at the heart of the matter. The ICC may have little control over ticket prices, but its sponsorship deals (at this World Cup with Pepsi, Hutch, LG Electronics and Hero Honda) can lead to the absurdity of spectators being searched for products that clash with these “global partners” in case they are caught on TV. When that happens, it is understandable that the public prefers to stay away.
Another factor may be the cultural and geographical diversity of the West Indies. Historically, cricket brought the people of the Caribbean together, but that idea is perhaps now harder to sustain and local people prefer to support local heroes.
And, although the West Indies squad comprises players from five regions, Antigua, for example, is without a representative.
Tournament pays price for greed
Simon Wilde
Embarrassingly small crowds, even for West Indies games, have shown up the organisers’ ignorance in making tickets far too expensive
CRICKET’S administrators have had a poor couple of weeks. Apart from the shocking death of a World Cup coach and the possibility that it was linked to attempts to “fix” aspects of the tournament, the event has failed chronically to draw crowds throughout the Caribbean.
The big idea behind awarding the World Cup to the West Indies, plainly a gamble given the logistics of staging it across several territories, was to revitalise cricket in places where it is in grave danger of being overtaken by rival attractions.
Aside from the uncomfortable questions left by Bob Woolmer’s murder, poor crowds must concern Malcolm Speed, the head of the International Cricket Council, and Chris Dehring, who runs the World Cup organising committee.
Ticket prices may yet be reviewed; a public appeal from Brian Lara, the West Indies captain, for more people to turn out cannot be discounted.
Speed, who was in Guyana on Friday to watch England play Ireland in front of fewer than 3,000, says he would like to see more tickets available at the lowest end of the price range, but even these, at $25 each, are too much for many West Indians, especially in Guyana.
Speed’s second move, if people still fail to turn up, would be to reduce prices further, or even give tickets to schoolchildren. “No one wants to see empty stands,” he says.
But ticket pricing is strictly not under Speed’s control. The ICC was asked its views before the competition, but the ultimate power lies with Dehring’s team, in consultation with the local organising committees, and at most venues the minimum cost was set at $25. But Speed may be tempted to call for an emergency review.
Not even West Indies matches have drawn capacity crowds. In Antigua, for the game between the hosts and Australia, the holders, the turnout was an embarrassment, and things weren’t much better when West Indies faced New Zealand. Ironically, the only match sold out in advance was the expected clash between India and Pakistan in Barbados, but neither side made it through the group stage. The ICC was keen for a strong showing from the smaller teams, but their improvement has come at a price, because neither Bangladesh nor Ireland is likely to prove a drawcard.
Crowds are likely to be bigger in Barbados, where England will have many travelling fans, but there is a serious issue here for the ICC. One-day tournaments raise huge sums through television contracts, but the public has been slow to respond to the idea of attending matches not involving their country. The neutral match, in fact, has never been more out of fashion. Two years ago England scrapped its triangular one-day competition, and a similar change is in the offing in Australia.
Ground authorities have ignored this and continue to set their prices high out of greed and an optimistic view of public interest, while many hoteliers have demanded grossly inflated prices in the belief that overseas visitors would turn up come what may. Most have voted with their wallets and stayed away.
Financial greed is at the heart of the matter. The ICC may have little control over ticket prices, but its sponsorship deals (at this World Cup with Pepsi, Hutch, LG Electronics and Hero Honda) can lead to the absurdity of spectators being searched for products that clash with these “global partners” in case they are caught on TV. When that happens, it is understandable that the public prefers to stay away.
Another factor may be the cultural and geographical diversity of the West Indies. Historically, cricket brought the people of the Caribbean together, but that idea is perhaps now harder to sustain and local people prefer to support local heroes.
And, although the West Indies squad comprises players from five regions, Antigua, for example, is without a representative.
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