Phil Salt (left) and Adil Rashid (centre) of England celebrate the dismissal of Rovman Powell of West Indies during the fourth Twenty20 match at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago, on December 19, 2023. Powell is set to captain the Windies at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which they host with the USA this summer. (Photo: AFP)
A LOSING TICKET
Govt's T20 WC bid snub under more scrutiny in light of one million ticket applications
NEWS on Saturday that over one million ticket applications were received in the first 48 hours of the public ballot for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has added fuel to the sentiment that Jamaica erred badly by declining to host games.
Six Caribbean nations and the United States will stage the tournament in June, but the Andrew Holness-led Jamaican Government did not bid to host because the cost was considered too high.
“It is looking like an opportunity lost,” former Cricket World Cup Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chris Dehring told the Jamaica Observer when contacted on Saturday.
“The economics around cricket today is astounding. T20 is the fastest-growing sport in the world. Just this [last] week it was confirmed that cricket, once again, had the highest number of social media followers of all sports federations — 107 million across all platforms. It is the second-largest sport in the world by fan base with 2.5 billion, and [ranks among the] top 10 in revenues.
“It [interest in tickets] is not surprising seeing what has been happening in the cricket world over the last 10 years. The last One-Day International (ODI) World Cup [hosted by India last year] saw record ticket sales and attendance building on the T20 World Cup in Australia [also last year].
“Of course, I suspect some of the early demand will be the professional scalpers using their bots [autonomous Internet programmes that can interact with systems or users] to try to get as many tickets as they can, but that too is an indication of the anticipated demand.
“A ticket in the secondary market for the India vs Pakistan [ODI World Cup] match last year went for as high as US$300,000 [about J47 million]. One can only imagine what a secondary market ticket for that game is going to fetch this time around in New York,” Dehring, who led the organising committee for the region’s hosting of the 2007 World Cup, reasoned.
Jamaica Cricket Association CEO Courtney Francis told the Observer he was thrilled at the development, given the prospects for other regional cricketing territories.
“The JCA is excited about the report… this is a clear indication that cricket is still attracting large numbers of spectators. The host nations are now much better able to access the likely benefits to be gained,” Francis surmised.
Sport Minister Olivia Grange said last year that the Government carried out a cost-benefit analysis and decided the expense to bid and upgrade infrastructure — estimated at over $450 million (approximately US$2.9 million) — for the World Cup was too high.
On Saturday Dehring outlined a sketch which suggested the investment would have been well worth it.
“Imagine hosting a T20 game here and 100 scalpers’ tickets got sold by Jamaicans on the secondary market for US$20,000 (roughly $31 million) each. That US$2-million profit, illicit or otherwise, could have paid for the entire expenditure we were hearing about,” he said.
Despite the disappointment, Dehring threw the spotlight on the potential silver lining — making sure mistakes of the past are not repeated.
” Notwithstanding, Jamaica needs to use it as a learning experience so we make better use of the opportunity the next time around," he said. ” A significant investment was made in 2007, the legacy of which is we are getting these opportunities.
” And we don’t have to build new stadia and train thousands of people on global events anymore. The hard part was done, and now we as a region are in a much better position to reap the rewards of that investment.”
Though Jamaica is not a part of the hosting picture Dehring encouraged “all hands on deck” to ensure a successful event in June.
“This is still a World Cup held in the West Indies — and the US of course — so as Jamaicans we should, first and foremost, lend our full support to our neighbours. It’s like the West Indies team: Whoever the selectors put on the field, we rally and it’s all hands on deck, their success being ours.”
“I really want to emphasise that now is not the time to dwell on the missed opportunity; it is time to rally around the West Indies to make sure the event is a success. All for one and one for all.”
Francis acknowledged there is disappointment but expressed high hopes for the future.
“It is a global event that Jamaica would have had the chance of hosting, to continue to display our culture globally,” he said. ” That fell through, and it is regrettable and would hurt any such discipline. There is the anticipated success of the upcoming T20 World Cup, and I am sure Jamaica will be in the thick of things on the next such occasion.”
