Construction of the cricket pavilion on the northern field of the National Sports Centre (NSC) is nearing completion.

The two-storey building will include two changing rooms, a scorer?s room, several bathrooms (upper and lower), an upper lounge and an outside terrace, topped off with kitchen facilities.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the NSC, Dr.Gerard Bean, said work on the project remained both on schedule and on budget.

That news will certainly be welcomed by Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) officials as the Island prepare to host the 2004 Americas Regional World Cup qualifying tournament in July and await the final outcome of a bid to host a World Cup game on local soil in 2007.

Work on the cricket pavilion is scheduled to be completed by the end of May.

?We are progressing on schedule and on budget as far as the work which we are presently engaged in which is the pavilion on the northern end of the field (opposite Devonshire Recreation Club), the grounds storage building and on the artificial hockey field,? said Bean.

However, due to the Island hosting next week?s Carifta Games, work on the artificial hockey pitch has been temporarily ?suspended?.

That area, explained Bean, would be utilised as a ?staging area for the Games to accommodate hospitality tents, judges? rooms and medical facilities.?

?The pavilion will be used on a daily or weekly basis for persons who use the northern field,? added Bean. ?At the ground level there are changing rooms for two teams and various other rooms like bathrooms etc.

?The upper level will have a lounge and an open area (outside terrace) with a kitchen and bathrooms and other auxiliary rooms also. This floor (upper) can be used for a variety of purposes such as meetings and receptions.?

Once work is completed on the cricket pavilion, construction will begin on a ?centre core? facility, Bean disclosed.

That facility, he explained, would accommodate facilities such as a press and camera room and a multi-purpose gymnasium.

But work on that project is not expected to begin in the near future as the Board of Trustees are currently ?drawing? up a presentation which will be submitted to Government and all other parties involved with a view to determining a possible starting date and financing.

?When we host big matches in the future with the centre core we won?t use the pavilion because numerous other facilities will be housed in the centre core,? said Bean.

?The pavilion is for routine cricket matches and primarily domestic programmes.

?It?s going to be a very important facility for the type of cricket we are trying to get here. It?s going to be a very nice facility to watch cricket from and one in which all Bermudians can be proud of.?