Kensington Oval Transformation: Multi-Purpose Venue Upgrade to Boost Sporting and Entertainment Events, Enhance Tourism Appeal

Kensington Oval will be transformed into a multi-purpose venue capable of holding a wide range of sporting and entertainment events, as well as serving as an important component of the tourism marketing product, according to Chairman of Kensington Oval Management Inc (KOMI), Damien Gaskin.

On Saturday Gaskin joined Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Chairman of Afreximbank Professor Benedict Oramah for the signing of a US$25 million (BDS$50 million) loan to upgrade and maintain the iconic Kensington Oval.

Gaskin said even though the loan was officially signed off on Saturday, most of the work slated for the Oval has almost been completed.

“We have done a lot of work to this point. We started the work in earnest in November to bring us to probably over 80 per cent complete in a lot of the works that we have had to do,” he said.

“We spent close to probably $30 million already, we are going to spend another five to eight of what we see as the current redevelopment at Kensington Oval.”

He added that though the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was the immediate focus for officials, the capabilities of the facility after the big tournament has always been top priority for management.

“Legacy was a major aspect of the entire plan around the redevelopment. That legacy will include an indoor facility with the latest technology to help our cricketers training year round, and even be able to add science to their training and rehabilitation. We are looking at drop-in pitches, we want to increase the utilisation of the Oval, we want to be able to hold a big concert one day, and then hold a huge cricket match three to four days later without any negative impacts on the field,” Gaskin said.

“We are not only sprucing it up, we are improving it for years to come.”

He further stressed: “We at the Oval want to become less dependent on these big one-off events. These big one-off events are great, and we will play our role globally in terms of facilitating these events. So, if we can host any event bigger than the Super Bowl, then we can host any event in the world. I believe that wholeheartedly.

“We want to be the destination of choice for events in the world, not only as a facility, but as a country. I think we can host the biggest events in the world outside of cricket,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mottley mirrored Gaskin’s comments, stating: “Only this week I spoke to the Florida Cruise Ship Association, [CEO] Michelle Paige, a very good friend of Barbados, and we were talking about new authentic tours that we need to bring about. And I have had in my head and I’ve asked the NCF and Sports Council and also KOMI, to be able to put on a cricket T10 for our cruise ship tourists.

“So they come in, they learn a little bit about the game, they get a chance to practise and see who can bowl and who can bat, and then you have two teams. You use some of our icons, some of our masters, or even some of the youngsters who may be here, you have three or more Bajans on each team and then the others are tourists. Imagine being able to go back and tell, especially with the number of British tourists that come in here for the P&O homeporting, that you have played cricket at Kensington Oval.” (SB)