Lara Stadium no longer WC venue

The 2007 World Cup will have to make do without the Brian Lara Cricket stadium in Trinidad. The ICC has stripped the incomplete stadium of its status as a warm-up match venue. Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Sport, Roger Boynes made the announcement first, and it was then confirmed by managing director and CEO for the tournament, Chris Dehring.

Dehring revealed that the decision came after the venue had been issued a two-week extension, but still failed to meet a key deadline. The stadium is planned to be part of an $850 million elite sports complex in Tarouba.

There have long been doubts as to whether contractors working on the venue would be capable of meeting the key ICC deadlines. And the stadium is now several months behind schedule, due to bad weather and the late delivery of raw materials to the site.

ICC officials granted a grace period of two weeks, in which time the completion schedule was to be reviewed and re-arranged. However, the government opted to replace the ground despite the extension, according to Boynes.

“While we have been assured by UDeCoTT (Urban Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago) that they could present something by December, we feel that the image that we want, the complete stadium that we want because we will be on show and the whole world will be looking at it, the government of Trinidad and Tobago has formally recommended that the Brian Lara Stadium be taken off the table,” said Boynes.

Venue Development Director for the tournament, Donald Lockerbie noted that the other grounds in the country in a good state of repair. He called the newly refurnished Queen’s Park Oval a ?masterpiece? and approved the University of the West Indies ground and the National Cricket Centre venue.

The two grounds under consideration to replace the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium are Guaracara Park and the Sir Frank Worrell Ground.