Island?s World Cup bid ?superior? to Caribbean rivals ? consultant
So far, Bermuda is playing all the right strokes in its campaign to host Cricket World Cup 2007 matches.
Michael Rowe, Chief Executive Officer of Positive Impact ? one of the American consulting firms contracted to handle Bermuda?s bid ? says the Island is on par if not superior to its Caribbean competitors in terms of what it?s proposing for the cricketing spectacle should World Cup action come to these shores.
?I can tell you this bid submission is the finest I have ever seen and will stack up very strongly against the other countries we?re bidding against . . . We believe we?re on sound if not better ground than some of the competitors,? he declared, addressing a Press conference at the Cabinet Office yesterday.
While not disclosing details of the Island?s bid, he said Bermuda was in the running for three packages ? two first-round groups and warm-up matches.
?We personally believe we stack up very well in terms of our infrastructure, the stadium that?s going to be built as well as our commitment to host the games.?
Rowe, part owner of the New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets, has managed about 4,000 public sporting events (and 80 million spectators) in more than 30 years in sports and entertainment consultancy.
Noting that he and fellow consultant Thom Meredith have either hosted the organisation or site for eight VAT tours for Olympics, Goodwill Games, Final Fours (college basketball) and the Super Bowl, Rowe assured that they ?understand what the road is ahead and how to prepare for it?.
While Bermuda is vying for first-round World Cup matches it could, he stressed, be presented with other options by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
?When we bid for a particular match the ICC can award us what we?ve asked for or something lower. So if they think our bid was superior to someone who bid for an 8,000-seat match they would come back and tell us we have been awarded a smaller venue capacity because the competition at that level may not have been up to their standards.
?We can actually get something less than what we bid for in terms of capacity but still anchored by a world-class team,? said the executive who was involved in organising a cricket event at Giant Stadium in New Jersey in 1980.
?I can tell you I did not know as much about it then as I do now. Our entire consulting team has had some experience with cricket ? both the sport or hosting a venue with it.?
Rowe said the consulting team?s vast experience made them well placed to deal with cricket?s ?unique challenges? all of which they are confident they can solve.
He lauded Government and the Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) for their hands-on role in the bidding process and for standing up to their word.
?In my 30-plus years I?ve not had the experience of seeing so many cooperative people ? not just saying they are going to be cooperative ? but doing the things they promised in an effort to acquire something they know is not just a sporting event but something could change this economy for years to come and could change how people think about Bermuda.
?This is going to take place on the shoulder of the tourist season so we?re talking about 15,000 additional people coming to the country, people who will come probably come back,? he said, adding that it will leave a legacy of improvements to the Island.
Meanwhile, Sports Minister Dale Butler outlined a packed agenda for the 14-member VAT team which visits Bermuda on June 11-12. Their whirlwind tour includes meetings with Government, site visits to the National Sports Centre and St. David?s Cricket Club and Press conferences.
?We will be pulling out all the stops to ensure that it goes well and Bermuda makes a great impression.
?We are extremely excited about being the last stop on the VAT team tour of potential host countries because we believe in the saying ?Save the best for last?,? he said.