The man who built a stage fit for a world final
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| Published on Friday, March 9, 2007 |
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By Jon Bramley
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (Reuters): One man's focus, dedication and sheer determination to do his job will ensure that the Cricket World Cup final will be played in a jewel of a stadium and not a half-finished building site come April 28.
Miles Weekes is the facilities development officer for the Kensington Oval which means it will be largely thanks to him that a $67.5 million re-build of the stadium is completed in time for the final.
With 27,500 spectators expected to cram into the famous ground for cricket's biggest day's play in four years, Weekes knew that the age-old Caribbean line -- 'don't worry, man, it'll be ready tomorrow' -- was not going to cut it.
For the past two years, he has been overseeing every concrete pillar laid, every screw turned and every gutter secured as the grand old lady of West Indies cricket was given her very, very expensive 21st century facelift.
"It has," as this 53-year-old London-educated Barbadian says with characteristic understatement, "been particularly challenging.
"We've simply broken it down into small targets, we've never tried to look at the end picture. We've just concentrated on doing 100 metres at a time and finished up doing the marathon."
In two weeks or so, the last of the scaffolding will be removed and the flagship stadium of the Caribbean will finally be ready to greet her audience.
NON-STOP
The construction work has been carrying on since Aug. 1 2005 virtually non-stop. "It's been a six-day-a-week job for me since we started planning in 2004 and for the last six months it's been seven days a week," said Weekes, who is not related to West Indies great Everton Weekes.
Anyone visiting the Oval on the outskirts of bustling Bridgetown for the first time in three years could be excused for driving past thinking they had mistaken the familiar 135-year-old stadium for some kind of hi-tech lunar launch-pad.
All but two of the former stands were demolished, four commercial properties were bought and 20 nearby houses were relocated to make room for the rebuild which has more than doubled the previous capacity of around 12,500.
"It's not been straightforward at all. Securing adequate resources to do the work has been the problem," said Weekes.
At any one time, some 550 workers have been toiling on the reconstruction with around 2,000 in total involved.
Most of them have been from local companies with pitch and sports field drainage experts being flown in from Britain and France to help ensure cricketing perfection.
The design cleverly marries the traditional eccentric lines of a Caribbean cricket ground, which has been constantly been tweaked over the years as old structures needed replacing, with the smooth curves of a modern-day sports arena.
'CARIBBEAN AMBIANCE'
Weekes retained the Hall & Griffiths and Hewitt & Inniss stands and included concrete structures for food and drinks vendors to ply their trade from within the ground whereas formerly they had worked from outside it.
"That way we keep that whole Caribbean ambiance that this place has always had inside and out," says Weekes approvingly.
The work will finally be completed on March 21, on deadline, ready for the first World Cup tie to be played here on April 11, which could feature England in a Super Eights clash.
That will complete a neat circle as England were the first touring team to play at the Oval back in 1895.
"I'm so tired I'm not sure I can exult at the moment," Weekes smiled.
The Cup final 17 days later will offer no respite or opportunity for him to survey his achievement before a sell-out crowd roughly amounting to a 10th of the size of the island's population.
"They haven't given us any free tickets for the final, we have to purchase them like anybody. There'll be no putting my feet up or anything like that.
"In any case I'll be too busy on the day directing staff and making sure the plumbing and so forth is working okay."
Weekes will still be making changes here and there at the Oval for up to a year before finally calling time on a labour of love which will surely be the lasting legacy of a successful career.
"I am a cricket fan and this will be something I will be able to drive past and say, 'I helped build that, that was my contribution'. That'll be a nice day."
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