By Michael Melia
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)
Six weeks before the start of the cricket World Cup, tournament organizers are rolling out a last-minute advertising blitz in the Caribbean to boost sagging ticket sales.
About half the seats for matches in the nine host countries are available and officials are rallying local fans to pick up the slack once over-the-counter ticket sales begin Thursday.
“It’s going to depend on local support,” chief ticketing officer Delroy Taylor said. “We’re expecting the people of the Caribbean will come through in this last phase.”
The tiny host nations have spent millions of dollars on new stadiums, roads and other improvements ahead of the tournament – billed as the largest sporting event ever in the Caribbean. But gaps in the stands could sour what many of the countries prize as a rare moment in the spotlight.
Although hosts of later rounds are already turning fans away from some matches, including the final in Barbados, other countries, including Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts, are worried because they lack high-profile contests.