BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (January 25, 2016) -- Less than two months after he received a sponsorship cheque from the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis for the upgrade of the Len Harris Cricket Academy, Manager and Coach Mr Keeth Arthurton was back to the bank - not for more money but to give an update of how the funds had been put into use.
“Mr Arthurton is well known in cricket circles both as a former player locally, regionally and internationally, and as a coach for the youth,” said Ms Danienne Brin, Development Bank’s Manager for the Human Resource, Marketing and Product Development Unit. “But he has another side that has shown up. That he has business acumen has manifested in the way he has managed the funds presented to him.”
Early December last year Mr Arthurton, a middle order batsman/left-arm orthodox bowler former West Indies Test player who was the third Nevisian on the Senior West Indies Cricket Team, received a cheque for $17,749.65 that was to be used for the upgrade of the Len Harris Cricket Academy which is situated within the Warner Park Stadium in Basseterre.
He explained then that the money was needed to erect a separation concrete wall 200ft in length and six feet high that would allow activities at the academy to continue when there are regional and international matches taking place at Warner Park. Previously when the grounds hosted those matches, activities at the academy would be put on hold.
“Mr Arthurton has surprised us when he said that the job was not only on schedule, but the fact that he had saved some money after he would have negotiated with the suppliers for discounts which they gave,” said Ms Brin who was invited by Mr Arthurton to the academy to see the work going on. “As a public institution, we applaud his financial prudence.”
The wall is up and according to Mr Arthurton the next step will be to have it painted. The academy will not just have the wall standing there as a physical structure offering the needed separation, but they will use it to make some money through advertising.
“Between each column we are looking at giving any company who want to do a bit of advertising in here,” explained Mr Arthurton. “Companies will buy space between the columns to put up their advertisement. That is what we are looking forward and that will help the academy to generate some funds.
“There are times when we will have to remove it because of maybe major sponsor for international and regional tournaments and they do not want any competitors or anybody else to be advertising at that particular time. But most of the time the brand name will be on the wall, if we take it down it is just for that short time and then we put them back up again.”
Being the sole sponsor of the wall, the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis was offered a strategic place where it will put up its advertisement. Ms Brin, who visited the academy last week, thanked Mr Arthurton for the offer and promised that once the wall is painted, the institution would mount an advert at the position offered to them, saying that there was need for the country’s youth to know the role Development Bank plays in nation building.
The academy’s upgrade, advised Mr Arthurton, will not be complete until a gate is erected to completely separate the academy from the main Warner Park ground, and the building of strips that will be used by the youth during their training. He also talked of putting up an extra shed.
“The progress has been excellent as you can see the wall if fully established now, which enhances the academy’s outlook,” Mr Arthurton told Ms Brin. “I want to thank the Development Bank for doing such a wonderful job.
“Now I can proudly say that based from what I know and my experience in appearing in those other countries that this facility, I think, is the best in the Caribbean. Now we just have to do some work in terms of upgrading the netting and some other minor things. The location is perfect because it is next to the Warner Park, an international ground, so we just hope that we can get to the level that we want and maintain it for a very long time.”
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