‒ Guyana an economically viable option
By Akeem Greene
Since the inception of the exciting Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Guyanese fans have been longing for the event to have its finals played at the National Stadium, Providence. For such a momentous occasion to occur, the support of the government becomes vital, this according to the league’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Damien O’Donohoe.
The CEO in speaking to Guyana Times Sport during an exclusive interview on Tuesday revealed that there is a diverse interest by various countries to host this year’s final but they are seeking to keep it in the Caribbean.
“The interest always lies around the finals and we have a number of countries interested in the finals and at the end of the day it is a Caribbean product and we absolutely want to see the finals in the Caribbean” he explained.
He further stated “ we have a board to answer to and we have to try and balance the book so government support on the finals deal is really important”.
The league enters its fifth year and two countries (Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis) have hosted the finals. Last year, Guyanese fans were tantalized over the prospects of hosting the finals after some sections of the media reported that the event would be held here which proved opposite.
O’Donohoe contended that the unique nature of the league has attracted international interest.
“There is allot of international interest, people see how fast the league has grown in a short time and they want to see the number one twtenty20 product since it has everything but also the party aspect that it brings makes it unique”.
Likewise, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Pete Russell disclosed that they are in the closing stages of selecting a finals venue.
“We are in the last rows of making a decision on that, it is never an easy decision, we have to be working closely with governments to make sure the checks and balances are to there to make sure they get a return on their investment”, Russell explained.
He added, “ We are really close, it is the usual suspects that are part of the mix”.
The officials explained that for a country to host the finals, they would go through a tender process but the league does not place a specific cost to countries, rather it is more an economic study, seeing what the finals can bring to a country.
They further revealed that “it is not just the highest bidder, it is the country we best believe is suited to host games of this nature”. 
In this regard, the question was poised if Guyana is an economically viable option to host the finals.
Russell responded saying, “ certainly, from a fan base at the stadium and in terms of facilities etc of course; at some point we are very hopeful to have the finals in Guyana we are very happy to have Eldorado as our big partner and at some point that is the dream and we will continue to have conversations”.
According to a 2016 report on the tournament, “the Guyanese economy reaped a US$15,447,309 windfall from the staging of its four pool matches, with the total contribution from the Hero CPL amounting to US$1,200,408.
The overall visitor spend for the 2016 runners up was fractionally down by 4% to $2,306,392; however, there were gains for the Guyana Tourism Authority whose shirt sponsorship deal has almost trebled its media value since 2014, from US$2,123,005 to US$5,978,951 in 2016”.
It added, “Hosting CPLT20 in Guyana created 349 local jobs and filled 2295 hotel room nights. With a combined TV audience in excess of 120 million for the four Guyana Amazon Warriors’ home matches, in all 50,304 fans attended matches at Providence Stadium during the 2016 season”.
The league is scheduled to run from August 4 to September 9 with the Guyana Amazon Warriors having four home matches from August 17 -22.
