Today spongy grass carpets the new field, remodeled as a near perfect circle but slightly oblong to preserve the name of the stadium,home to the Pickwick Cricket Club since 1882. Designed for its Caribbean setting, the stadium has underground tanks to drain thousands of gallons of rainwater during tropical downpours, and the roof will have translucent panels to soften the shade's contrast with the bright sun.

Cricket has major followings in Europe, Asia, and Australia,as well as the former British colonies of the Caribbean. Children play with homemade bats and wickets in dirt patches across Barbados, one of the countries contributing players to a West Indies team seeking its first World Cup title since winning the tournament in 1975 and 1979.

The host countries see their new facilities as national centerpieces that will host concerts, community events and other tournaments well beyond the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Visiting fans, they hope, will return as tourists.

Down the road from Kensington, the center of Barbados' seaside capital is getting a facelift, with a restored boardwalk and a new central park. Renovations to the airport, national roadways and other infrastructure have been fast-tracked to finish by the tournament.

Limited by small industrial bases, the islands with populations under 100,000 in some cases have had to look for outside help to fuel the construction boom.

About 500 Chinese laborers are working to rebuild Grenada's National Stadium, which was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Beijing, which is sharing the cost of the project, is also a partner in the construction of Jamaica's new stadium and contributed US$20 million (euro16 million) to build Antigua's facility on the condition that Chinese labor was used. India is a partner in Guyana's new Providence Stadium, providing labor and funding.

A cement shortage hit the Caribbean this year as demand surged, forcing governments to seek supplies from countries including Venezuela, Colombia, and Cuba. "Political leaders and others rose to the occasion," Lockerbie said.

Despite the construction of several new hotels, the region is still well short of having enough beds available for the fans expected during what is already the high tourism season. Barbados, an island of 280,000 people with 9,000 hotel beds, is expecting 30,000 visitors at any one time during the tournament.

Cruise ships booked by sports tourism companies for Australian, South African and other fans will take up some slack. As many as 15 of the ships are expected to dock or anchor off Barbados the weekend of the final April 28.

Several countries are encouraging citizens to convert their homes to bed and breakfasts. In Guyana, the only South American host country, organizers are planning to set up tents and camps to house some of the expected 25,000 visitors.

Organizers call the housing gap a "good crisis."

"That's the passion of cricket that's going to bring them," Lockerbie said. "I think all of our countries are getting prepared for just about anything."

1

2