interest group, but when you balance it down, really are not worth the time, effort and money.'' -- Mr. David Ezekiel.

If you're walking along the streets of Hamilton sometime soon and happen to bump into the likes of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Richie Richardson or even World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, don't be too surprised. In all probability, you will be witnessing the fruits of a renewed drive by businessmen and tourism officials to bring major sports events to Bermuda. For, as Business Focus reports this week, modern sport is big business.

Ever since golf was adopted as the unofficial pastime of businessmen, sport and business have been inextricably linked.

These days, any member of Bermuda's international business community who does not play golf is seriously handicapped when trying to clinch a deal or keep a client.

"You're clearly going to miss a lot of opportunities to get to know your clients really well if you don't play golf. There's no getting away from that,'' said Mr. David Ezekiel, president of International Advisory Services off the course and a highly respectable seven-handicapper on it.

"Most of the people from overseas who come to the Island for meetings at some stage find their way to the golf courses. It's part of the business culture.

"If you can't join in, you're missing out on a substantial part of the whole client relationship. Golf entertaining is just a massive business.'' For Mr. Ezekiel, sports, is also a significant part of his business life, with his firm handling the captive insurance needs of the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.

And he is also chairman of the Tournaments sub-committee of the Committee on Future Opportunities for the Government's Commission on Competitiveness.

The sub-committee recently submitted a report on what type of sporting events Bermuda should be trying to attract to boost its prestige, bring in the right kind of visitors and generate important overseas media coverage.

"We really tried to sift out the sort of events which appeal only to a special interest group but, when you balance it down, really are not worth the time, effort and money,'' said Mr. Ezekiel.

"The only events we would consider which are not of great economic benefit to the Island are `feel-good' events which attract a lot of community interest, like the recent cricket tour of Bermuda by a West Indies Board Select team.'' One of his group's recommendations is that a sponsorship committee be set up to arrange financing for suitable sporting events.

Another recommendation is that Government should publish a handbook which Mr.

Ezekiel's sub-committee has drawn up offering advice about sponsorship, Immigration, Customs, venues, insurance and other matters to anyone seeking to stage an event on the Island.

If his sub-committee had been formed earlier, there would have been a fair chance that Bermuda would have put in a bid to stage the World Chess Championship match between Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short which is currently being played in London for total prize money of 1.7 million ($2.55 million).

"This is exactly the type of event we are looking at,'' said Mr. Ezekiel.

"It does not require a huge venue, it would attract a good crowd of people to Bermuda and it is covered in the quality media all over the world.'' A sum of $2.55 million is by no means out of Bermuda's price range if an event is considered important enough, he said.

Ideally, most of the money would come from Bermuda-based businesses and wealthy individuals and ticket sales, although The Ministry of Tourism is prepared to chip in when required, both financially and logistically, he said.

Efforts are likely to be made to resurrect the popular Bermuda International Triathlon which was stopped a few years ago after church members complained that road-blocks prevented them from attending their Sunday morning services.

One major certainty is that there is no point in holding any of these events during the height of the visitor season, when hotel rates and expenses are high.

The World Rugby Classic, which is held every November, is a model of what can be achieved when business and sport get together.

Local stores benefit from an influx of people at a time when the Island is usually quiet, Bermuda receives widespread publicity overseas through television, print and radio coverage, and businesses get their name exposed to millions of people.

XL Insurance, one of the sponsors of the Classic, is also sponsoring the XL Tennis Classic at Coral Beach & Tennis Club in December, at which stars such as Patrick McEnroe and Aaron Krickstein will be playing.

And October, 1994, could turn out to be one of the most important months of next year's sporting calendar in Bermuda if moves to stage two major events come off.

The Mid Ocean Club looks set to stage the Merrill Lynch Shoot Out, a golf event to which the top four money winners on the US PGA tour are invited.

And Mr. Ezekiel has clearance from the NBA to bring two teams over to play an exhibition game, which will definitely go ahead if enough sponsorship can be found.

The estimated cost of just bringing the two teams, officials and equipment to Bermuda is between $300,000 and $350,000, which does not include costs on the Island.

While much of this sum is a fee to get the teams, the NBA's bill to Mr.

Ezekiel also includes a $10,000 charge to hire and fly in an NBA basketball courts (which players must play on for safety reasons and because it has a bounce they are used to), $3,000 for uniforms, socks, shoes, hats and warm-up suits for the ball-boys and even $8 for two ball pumps.

Then there are the 60 air tickets which must be provided for the teams, officials and hangers-on.

One of the problems with staging any top entertainment event in Bermuda is the chronic dearth of adequate venues, as local music promoters well know.

"The NBA game will probably have to be tented,'' said Mr. Ezekiel. "We'll have to erect a stand that will be able to seat 2,500/3,000 people minimum.'' The match will be paid for from a combination of tickets and sponsorship, although efforts to recoup maximum revenues have been hit by the breakdown of plans to hold matches over two nights.

"There will just be one game and we will do it with two good teams or not at all,'' said Mr. Ezekiel.

Apart from attracting publicity and generating money from the staging of top events, he believes sport has a much more important role to play in business and the workplace.

"Sport within the company is becoming a tremendous way of doing something for the employee,'' he said. "Most companies here of any size have a golf or tennis tournament for their employees. It's tremendous for morale.'' Mr. David Ezekiel.