BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - MINISTER of Sports Hon. Glen Phillip insists that he is still hopeful of St. Kitts and Nevis hosting a CPL Franchise when one becomes available in 2015.
Phillip, in an interview with this publication, admitted that his Ministry’s initial intention was to get a local CPL franchise but had to settle with just hosting games in 2014 before a franchise becomes available.
“When we first started on this journey hosting the Semi-Finals and Finals, we went after a franchise but a franchise will not be available until 2015 .”
He added that a number of other territories are also interested in hosting franchises, including non-traditional territories, and saw that as the rationale for the long wait.
“Now, what is happening is that there are so many territories that are interested outside of the traditional cricket territories.
“For example, Cayman Islands and Bermuda are interested…Florida, Canada, and as I understand even Dallas. So you understand the expansion of the game, and I think probably that is why so long.”
He also gave an update on the negotiation for a franchise
“The government is not the one who really deals with the franchise, but there are a few persons locally who are interested in acquiring a franchise, and that is one of the things we are trying to do and corporate with them and assist their endeavour.”
The CPL is the largest cricket tournament in the Caribbean and the 2014 season is set to bowl off on July 11 and conclude on August 16.
The CPL games in the Federation will begin on August 7 with the final round of preliminary games, which will continue until August 10. The Semi-Finals and Finals will be played on August 14, 15 and 16 respectively.
