Trinidad and Tobago won the right to host the semi-final and the final of the 2015 Limacol Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 competition ahead of the United States and Dubai.
This was revealed by CPL chief executive officer Damien O’Donohoe during a press conference held at the Ministry of Tourism yesterday when he also announced that T&T, home to the Red Steel franchise, will host seven matches, including the “Super Bowl of the Caribbeanâ€, the CPL final.
“We actually had bids from outside of the Caribbean to host the finals but Gerry (T&T Minister of Tourism Gerald Hadeed) was insistent that we brought it back here to Trinidad and Tobago,†said O’Donohoe.
“It was actually two countries (that bid to host the semifinals and final). One was going to be the United States and the next one was going to be in Dubai,†he added, saying that taking the CPL to markets outside of the Caribbean has always been his plan.
“We were in discussions to take some games over there...that is the future,†he explained.
“I have always said and it was always part of the plan to take the CPL into the US because we believe we have the best platform and we all know if you can make any traction in the US, the scale that they have changes things considerably.
“It would absolutely brilliant if we could bring a Caribbean game there. If we could bring everything great about the Caribbean into the US it could be great,†O’Donohoe added.
He also noted that the CPL was drawing up plans to see how best it could make an impact in communities, which newly appointed Minister of Sport Brent Sancho was eager to see take place.
“He (Sancho) was all about what CPL could do for the community and for the children and it is great when a Minister of Sport is thinking about the communities.
“We are going to have the top West Indies and international stars in Trinidad for two weeks, so we have to come up with initiatives to make sure they get into the schools, into the summer camps and in any way possible where they could work with the children of the country to inspire them that if they is anything they want to achieve in life, it is actually possible,†O’Donohoe explained.
“The CPL final is the Super Bowl of the Caribbean and you are going to have the biggest stars from the world of cricket and the biggest entertainers, and big celebrity names,†he added.
The CPL CEO also noted that the tournament is turning heads around the world.
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