BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE economic impact from staging games in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) continues to be felt across the region, as the organizers reported a 47 percent increase from the last time the tournament travelled around the region.
The tournament returned to touring the region last year after being held at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic, after cancellation in 2020.
Last year, the tournament was played in four territories - St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, Guyand and Trinidad and Tobago.
“The 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) generated a huge economic impact for the countries who hosted matches with a total figure of US$200,935,772, a 47% increase on the amount generated during the 2019 tournament, the last time the Hero CPL travelled around the region,” the organizers said in a media statement.
CPL further said: “The total direct economic impact on the region from Hero CPL 2022 was US$134,686,551 with an additional US$66,250,232 in sponsorship value as a result of the Hero CPL broadcast which was watched by over 700 million viewers in 2022.”
The tournament has become popular with fans around the world and has been used by the various territories as a means to advertise in markets that they would have generally spent millions to advertise.
In upgrading the tournament, the organizers introduced the Massy Women’s CPL (WCPL) and the SKYEXCH 6IXTY.
“The tournament has created jobs and generated income in all of these countries as the Caribbean continues to be central to the success of the Hero CPL,” CPL stated.
With the region still rebounding from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the staging of the tournament is a thrust to return ‘heads to the beds’ for territories during what is described as the “slow season” - July through September.
“The rise in economic impact has, in part, been driven by the change to the tournament structure that now sees all six teams, TV production crew and tournament staff travelling around the region as one cohort, spending more time in each of the host countries. With more matches being played per host country, travelling fans are now offered even greater value to come and watch the Hero CPL and as a result there was a significant increase in international arrivals across the tournament in 2022,” the statement stated.
Meanwhile, CPL noted that there were 54,702 hotel nights across the region, with players, TV crew, CPL and franchise staff and other visitors all helping to generate further revenue for local businesses and suppliers.
“The total viewership for the 2022 Hero CPL was a record 721.8 million, a record for the tournament. This is the third successive year that the tournament has generated a viewership figure of over half a billion. This increase in viewership gave even more exposure to host countries throughout the tournament, adding further value to hosting Hero CPL matches,” the statement added.
Commenting on the statistics, Pete Russell, Hero CPL’s CEO, said: “The value that Hero CPL brings to host countries has been long established, but for the economic impact of the tournament to pass US$200 million for the first time is another milestone in the decade-long history of the event. Hero CPL creates jobs, fills hotel rooms, boosts tourism and attracts visitors into host countries, both during the tournament and beyond. We are very excited to see this Caribbean product continue to grow its global reach while still hugely benefiting the region.”
This year’s tournament is expected to bowl off in August and runs through September 14, with the Finals slated to be played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. That country’s Government purchased the Final’s rights for three years with 2023 being the second staging.
