The iconic Queen\u2019s Park Oval in St Clair will not host any matches in this year\u2019s Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL), but club president Dr Nigel Camacho says steps are already being taken to ensure the historic venue remains a vital part of the national sporting landscape.<\/p>\n
Camacho revealed that the club was aware of the CPL\u2019s decision, which stemmed from long-standing concerns raised not only by the CPL organisers but also by the International Cricket Council (ICC), including during the 2007 World Cup and again for last year\u2019s T20 World Cup.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, CPL officially confirmed that the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) will play all five of their home games at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Tarouba, South Trinidad. However no reasons were given for the decision.<\/p>\n
Last year CPL matches were hosted at both the Oval and at Tarouba.<\/p>\n
Camacho noted that among the main concerns cited were the limited number of corporate boxes at the Oval and the abundance of existing sponsorship signage around the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the issues is the unavailability of additional corporate boxes, because most of the boxes at the Queen\u2019s Park Oval are already leased out on a long-term basis, and we don\u2019t have many available for rental,\u201d Camacho explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other major challenge for them is that many of their sponsors feel intimidated, and rightfully so, by the existing signage already in place,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Camacho noted that changes are already underway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to try and digitise a lot of the signage so that we can present a clean stadium. We\u2019ve faced these challenges in the past and have already started to address them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the shift to Tarouba, Camacho stressed that the Oval is still considered the home of the TKR franchise, which continues to benefit from the club\u2019s steady production of top-tier players.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Queen\u2019s Park Oval is still one of the most iconic venues in the world. Its idyllic location in Port of Spain makes it a favourite for many, and we\u2019ve taken all of that into consideration,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not something you can change overnight, but we are putting things in place to ensure the venue stays relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Camacho also pointed to the Oval\u2019s strategic advantage in terms of accessibility. \u201cThe great advantage we have is our location, especially considering the traffic heading south on weekdays. But we know we can\u2019t just rest on our legacy and iconic status.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWe\u2019ve listened to the concerns raised by promoters and are addressing them. We\u2019ve already introduced Wi-Fi 7 at the club, which we hope will be a game-changer for the country and the Caribbean in terms of stadium technology.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club continues to engage with CPL officials, including TKR CEO Venky Mysore.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been in regular contact with Mr Mysore, and he has indicated that he plans to issue a statement clarifying that the move away from the Oval is not permanent,\u201d Camacho said. \u201cIt\u2019s just how things worked out this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Admitting that the latest development is a disappointment, he said, \u201cit\u2019s a major setback, even though we knew it was coming. Changes take time, but we\u2019ve already set the wheels in motion.\u201d<\/p>\n
He concluded: \u201cPeople look forward to the matches at the Oval. The atmosphere is second to none. While Tarouba has improved, we are committed to staying relevant and making the necessary adjustments. It\u2019s a challenge, but something that we can overcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the BLCA has hosted the men\u2019s CPL final in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, as well as the Massy Women\u2019s CPL final in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n
The Knight Riders will face off against all five rival franchises between August 27 and September 3.<\/p>\n
TKR home fixtures:<\/strong><\/p>\n At Brian Lara Cricket Academy<\/strong><\/p>\n Wednesday August 27 – TKR vs Antigua Barbuda Falcons, 7 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n Friday August 29 – TKR vs Barbados Royals, 8 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n Saturday August 30 – TKR vs Guyana Amazon Warriors, 7 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n Monday September 1 \u2013 TKR vs St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, 11 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n Wednesday September 3 \u2013 TKR vs Saint Lucia Kings, 7 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The iconic Queen\u2019s Park Oval in St Clair will not host any matches in this year\u2019s Republic Bank…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4101],"tags":[1406,3462,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-191593","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-cricket","9":"tag-local","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114698575079660296","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}