Oh no, Steven! The outfield is just fine.
Apparently Kensington is more than ready to host the regional Super50 next week, as Kensington Oval Management Inc (KOMI) chief executive officer Ben Toppin has refuted claims that the outfield is in bad condition.
Toppin gave the guarantee just two days after Barbados Cricket Association director of cricket Steven Leslie said some areas of the field needed urgent attention following the recent staging of the Errol Barrow Sunset Concert.
“I’m not sure where this information is coming from, but I can tell you no remedial action has been necessary for the field as there has been no real damage,” said Toppin in a telephone interview with SUNSPORT.
“We confirmed this too with a total inspection of these supposed “problem” areas, which had no impact and were totally clean. I can personally confirm there was no damage as I inspected the field myself.”
Toppin’s comments run counter to those made by Leslie in an exclusive interview earlier this week where he claimed Monday’s gospel concert created a major challenge in preparing the ground. According to Leslie, the BCA has been working overtime on the field after encountering issues with plastic cups, chicken bones and people wearing high-heel shoes.
He didn’t end there either, stating that there were indentations in the field resulting from people using chairs and dancing on the multimillion dollar grass.
“I can also say there were no chairs placed on the field for the event and multiple sources can confirm this so I’m not sure what chairs are being referred to,” said Toppin.
“There were no chairs on the field and there was no debris on either, other than some fertiliser pellets on the field. Right now, I can tell you work is continuing as normal because there was no additional effort needed.”
It’s just the latest in a long back and forth between the BCA and KOMI over the use of Kensington Oval since the ground was redeveloped for the staging of the 2007 ICC World Cup.
Due to its yearly million-dollar utility bill, KOMI has been forced to use the venue as a multi-purpose facility to stage non-cricketing events such as entertainment shows and other sports meets. But such a move has been met with public criticism from some BCA board members, most notably Winston Stafford, who questioned the overuse of the Oval two years ago.
Stafford expressed the view after the hosting of the Golden Anniversary concert, Hennessy Artistry and the final of the David Thompson Memorial Constituency Councils Football Classic in one month led to the deterioration of the outfield.
KOMI subsequently purchased a lighter and sleeker hydraulics mobile stage to reduce the impact on the field being made by heavy platforms and scaffolding.
And that mobile stage was apparently deployed for the gospel show. (JM)