Empty seats, hotel rooms mark disappointing World Cup

WORLD CUP: When the Caribbean was granted the opportunity to host the Cricket World Cup, it seemed a natural and long-overdue choice.

Yet empty seats and canceled hotel rooms from Jamaica to Guyana have some rethinking the logic.

Low attendance, poor performances by some top teams and logistical problems - not to mention the murder of the coach of Pakistan’s team - have plagued the 47-day World Cup heading into Saturday’s final.

Ticket prices out of the range of local residentes resulted in the thousands of empty seats. Strict rules set up by local organizing committees also kept away some Caribbean islanders, accustomed to watching the sport on grassy fields while enjoying music, food and drink.

“To be hosting the World Cup should be something special,” said Curtly Ambrose, a West Indies fast bowling great from Antigua. “We are a small nation and we should feel proud. In terms of a West Indian flavor, we are used to the music and the cooking under the stands.

“The prices are ridiculous. In these hard times, it’s crazy to ask people to pay US$100.” Although the rules eventually were relaxed, the damage was irreversible and the islands are counting the costs.

Organizers are hoping for a sellout crowd of 25,000 for the final between defending champion Australia and Sri Lanka in Barbados. They are likely to be disappointed.

When the Cricket World Cup was first played in 1975, the West Indies were the undisputed kings of the game. They won the first two championships and were runners-up in the third.

When the World Cup moved away from its home in England and went worldwide, it was only a matter of time before it would come to the Caribbean.

But for the most part, the World Cup has passed the locals by while the overseas cricket fans have either stayed away or gone home early.

Instead of being a lucrative jamboree with hoteliers, bars, restaurants, travel companies serving thousands of overseas visitors, they have been lamenting the lack of business.

Shock and gloom descended on the event with the murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica, on March 18.

Detectives trying to find the killer or killers have not identified a suspect.

Additional, six English team members went on a drinking binge in St. Lucia after their loss to New Zealand, an incident that was widely publicized.

On the field, perennial powers India and Pakistan were eliminated in the first round and the host West Indies performed poorly, adding to the disappointment.

World Cup organizers carefully seeded the draw so that, if the teams had played to their usual standard, then the “Super 8s” second round would have featured eye-catching matchups such as India-Pakistan, Australia-Pakistan or England-India, all at the refurbished 25,000-capacity Kensington Oval in Barbados.

When India-Pakistan became Bangladesh-Ireland, many of the thousands from the Asian subcontinent who had reserved tickets and hotel rooms canceled.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Friday, AP

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