Basseterre, St. Kitts (SKNIS) — Economic activity in St. Kitts and Nevis spurred by the Federation’s participation in the 2014 Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 tournament is estimated to be over US $26 million.
The study was done by SMG Insight, which is the sports specialist arm of Yougov – a United Kingdom-based firm that is renowned for advanced research and consultancy services. It reportedly has 24 offices in 13 countries including the United States, Europe and the Middle East. The Economic Impact Assessment was commissioned by the CPL.
St. Kitts and Nevis hosted 10 matches in total (including a charity match) for the CPLT20 from August 07 to 16 at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium.
The study valued “The Promotional picture postcard TV campaign” for the matches held at Warner Park as US $586,530.00. This is significant given that the matches were seen in 101 territories around the world. Brand awareness was estimated to be around US $4 million.
Minister of Sports Honourable Glenn Phillip referred to the spending done to prepare the country to host the games and emphasized “we made back our money and then some.”
“We know that 220 million households were exposed to St. Kitts and Nevis,” Minister Phillip reminded. He forecasted the indirect impact and stressed “I think that the future is bright for St. Kitts and Nevis.”
CPL’s Chief Operating Officer Pete Russell said viewers got a true appreciation of what makes St. Kitts and Nevis an attractive and exciting destination.
“[CPL] has had a phenomenal impact we think both in terms of on the ground, the people coming to the games getting excited and interested in it but more importantly the economics for the island,” he revealed. “… That is the key legacy that we want to leave wherever we go. Yes we want to put on the best tournament in the world and we want to show off the Caribbean – the specific islands that we play in – to the world in the best possible light. If we can deliver an economic impact to that degree then everyone’s going to get excited.”
For the tournament throughout the Caribbean, the projected total economic impact is estimated to be more than US $214 million.