UPDATE: St Kitts set to host CPL 2021 – vaccinated fans to be in attendance, all matches at Warner Park

In this Sep 1, 2018 file photo, Dwayne Bravo of Trinbago Knight Riders hits 4 runs during match 23 of the Hero Caribbean Premier League between St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Trinbago Knight Riders at the Warner Park Sporting Complex in Basseterre, St Kitts, Saint Kitts And Nevis. CPL announced on Tuesday that St Kitts will be the 2021 hosts of the T20 tournament.  - via CPL T20
In this Sep 1, 2018 file photo, Dwayne Bravo of Trinbago Knight Riders hits 4 runs during match 23 of the Hero Caribbean Premier League between St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Trinbago Knight Riders at the Warner Park Sporting Complex in Basseterre, St Kitts, Saint Kitts And Nevis. CPL announced on Tuesday that St Kitts will be the 2021 hosts of the T20 tournament. - via CPL T20

THE Warner Park Stadium in Basseterre, St Kitts will be the host venue for the 2021 edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

In a media briefing, via Zoom, on Tuesday morning, CEO Pete Russell and Jonel Powell, St Kitts/Nevis’ Minister of Sports, Education, Youth and Culture, said that this year’s competition is set to be the first fully vaccinated sporting tournament since the covid19 pandemic.

The 2021 CPL will start on August 28 and end in mid-September with all 33 games at Warner Park.

Powell said, “During this difficult period of the pandemic, St Kitts/Nevis understands the need to position itself in the recovery, and its importance in the relationship with the CPL and the St Kitts/Nevis Patriots. We have taken into consideration our track record in relations to the covid19 pandemic and the fact that we’ve been able to weather that storm pretty well.

“To date we’ve had 44 positive cases of covid19 with no deaths and no serious illnesses,” he continued. “We’re confident in our ability to contribute to sport and, in this regard, the CPL. (On Monday), the Cabinet of St Kitts/Nevis approved the hosting of the entire 2021 CPL tournament here, to be held at Warner Park.”

Powell said, “As of the 15th May, St Kitts/Nevis will be allowing patrons to attend all sporting events to the extent capacity of 50 per cent at venues. Those patrons will have to be fully vaccinated with an approved covid19 vaccine. This will extend to all sporting events and the CPL. We are confident we’re going to pull off this tournament in grand fashion, but in a healthy one.”

Warner Park’s official seating capacity is 8,000.

“It’s very important that the CPL takes place,” said Russell, who recently took over as CEO from Damien O’Donohoe, who left the CPL to pursue other options. “I want to (give) my personal thanks to the Minister who has worked tirelessly over the last six months to ensure that this opportunity has arisen.”

Russell continued, “We’ll have 220 people (in St Kitts), in terms of the CPL cohort. Hopefully that will be welcomed, not only by the local hoteliers but the vendors on the island. It’s very important we have a TV audience that appreciates what St Kitts has to offer because they will be the window to the world, in that period.”

Russell mentioned that the tournament will be played in a bio-secure bubble, but all players will not be mandated to take covid19 vaccines before participating in the 2021 CPL.

“It’s not a requirement that they’re vaccinated,” he said. “There are quarantine options as well.”

The 2020 CPL, which saw hosts Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) complete an unprecedented 100 per cent record, was staged at two venues – Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair and Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.

Russell said that the six CPL teams (TKR, hosts St Kitts/Nevis Patriots, Barbados Tridents, Jamaica Tallawahs, Guyana Amazon Warriors and St Lucia Zouks) will be utilising six practice facilities on the island, to avoid wear and tear at Warner Park, during the four-week-long competition.

Russell said no tendering process was held with regards to the 2021 event. “The government of St Kitts/Nevis have been in discussion with the CPL for a number of years. It’s an option that they took up.”

As far as the financial agreement between the TT Government and CPL for the 2020 edition was concerned, Russell said, “Everything has been paid off. We’re also very grateful for Trinidad for hosting last year, in trying conditions.”

The 2021 CPL draft is expected to take place in late May, according to Russell.

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"UPDATE: St Kitts set to host CPL 2021 – vaccinated fans to be in attendance, all matches at Warner Park"

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