Stanford wants to bankroll EPL

[vaibhav mehta]

Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire who has proposed a US$20 million winner-takes-all contest between England and a West Indies XI, could be prepared to bankroll an English version of the Indian Premier League, but only if the England & Wales Cricket Board can guarantee him a return on his investment.

Stanford has been in talks with the ECB all week, because he believes that, if done properly, a proposed English Premier League offers the only realistic rival to India's riches. He told The Times on Wednesday that he already had a group of investors lined up to get involved if the notion can get off the ground.

Full Story.



ECB and Stanford move closer to tie-in

The England & Wales Cricket Board could be asked to help revive cricket in the Caribbean after moving ever closer to a lucrative tie-in with the Texan billionaire, Allen Stanford, following a further round of talks at Lord's on Monday.

Stanford, whose multimillion-dollar Twenty20 tournament has reinvigorated interest in cricket in the West Indies, has reportedly offered up to $100 million for a series of five 20-over matches between England and a West Indies All-star XI, the first of which could be played as early as November this year.

Full Story.

So things are working good against IPL,I guess.

 

[SciD]

ECB behaves like they are still in WG Grace era. Nothing will happen.

 

[saladguy]

i completely agree with sid!

 

[manee]

I'd hate to see the Twenty20 Cup turned into the EPL. I feel that in a global market, both the Twenty20 Cup and the IPL have their places. However, if the ECB wish to embark on the ambitious venture, all the luck to them.

 

[AndyRAC]

ECB behaves like they are still in WG Grace era. Nothing will happen.

I'd have to agree with you.

I see the players union chief Sean Morris wants big business to back an EPL. Can't see it happening though. In India cricket is almost a religion, over here, it's probably the No1 summer sport. But I can't really imagine big business getting involved like in India, can you? Add to the fact that India has big cricket stadiums, we don't, in fact, ours are tiny by comparison. Unless they use Football and Rugby stadiums, which isn't going to happen.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article3804242.ece

 

[prarara]

Stanford-EPL the IPL challenge?

Well here's the link to the article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/england/7365683.stm

I find that it looks like the Stanford powered English party may try to challenge the IPL in its popularity and the broad appeal.

I think that challenging india and the IPL is a very bad idea. This guy knows business pretty well, and challenging a well established body(BCCI's IPL) with a body (EPL) that does not have a lot of funding will not work out well.

I don't think that even Stanford can challenge the BCCI, and in my opinion it would make a lot more sense to work with the BCCI in globalizing the sport.

Working with the BCCI in making the 20/T the sport of the future would definitely be the best way to proceed. Here it seems like the English are extremely miffed at not being the powerhouse of cricket any longer.

I think the best summary of my argument comes from the interview itself; if you listen to the interview he says the word '900 pound Gorilla' as a term of derision against the Indian Body. This may well be true, but it means that the BCCI definitely could have the knockout power of a 900 pound Gorilla to buy out any competitor if it came to it. Stanford has built a good grass roots following with the Stanford T/20 cup, and he will probably do the same in England, if he combined these resources with the Indians in the ICL and IPL, we would stand a lot better of actually globalizing this sport for mass appeal.

Thoughts?

 

[vaibhav mehta]

We already have this issue http://www.planetcricket.org/forums/showthread.php?t=42464 on PC.
Anyway Bro,good point.
I think now its not globaliziation of game rather it hurts the game now.
I don't know though whom to blame,BCCI,ICC or ECB?

 

[prarara]

Sorry vaibhav. I didn't see that.

Could a mod merge the two threads?

 

[Skater]

I blame the ICC. The ICC organised the Twenty20 World Cup. If that had never happened and India had never won it, they would not have gone T20 crazy and the ICL and IPL would never have happened.

 

[prarara]

I don't think there's anything wrong with IPL or ICL.
T20 is probably the only way cricket will become popular with non-criketing countries. There's no one to blame because it is a potential cash cow...no it is a cash cow. Cricket purists have tests, and the only form of the game to go out will probably be ODI cricket.

I for one love the IPL so far. It's entertaining, draws big crowds, and is generating tons and tons of revenue. Nothing bad about that at all. It's going to make a lot of people rich; ie it'll make the 900 pound gorilla Stanford described of the BCCI to an even bigger behemoth.

What I'm critical of is his business plan. It seems he's trying to take on the BCCI's IPL and that's faulty business logic. Game theory shows that more than likely he'll loose out. The only chance is if his organization is more effective and gives a product that is more efficient-problem is that in the entertainment industry, crowds want the overthetop light shows and the film star endorsements (there's no arguing that such things has made the IPL very popular and has increased ratings significantly.) I think him challenging the Indian group is stupid; he should work with the WICB, ECB, ICC, and BCCI to make T20 the most popular sport in the world. I think a man like him can definitely do that.

 

[vaibhav mehta]

Sorry vaibhav. I didn't see that.

Could a mod merge the two threads?

No problem Bro..
I also sometime get confused.Everything is mess here.
Anyway Cheers..

I blame the ICC. The ICC organised the Twenty20 World Cup. If that had never happened and India had never won it, they would not have gone T20 crazy and the ICL and IPL would never have happened.

Now thats the Best answer.

IMO ICC is most powerful Organization whose work is to decide what is good for cricket and not?
Now If any individual Board is trying to earn some money by these leagues then ICC should take consideration that its going to harm cricket or not.
I don?t blame BCCI or ECB for this.They are doing there job.
My question is,ICC doing its job?

 

[manee]

Threads merged.

 

[prarara]

I agree with Manee here. I don't think that the English really have a chance to fight the indians financially...even with Stanford's backing.

 

[Kev]

crowds want the overthetop light shows and the film star endorsements

I'm not sure they do. They are popular at the moment but I think all that will fade away once the IPL gets established and the cricket will be the focus. When the T20 cup started in England they did all the dancers and bumpf (ok, not to the same level) and they found out it doesn't really add anything and people aren't really interested in it, they come for the cricket.

Look at any big sporting event, like the Olympics, is anyone really interested in the opening ceremony? We watch it because we are excited about the olympics. Would we care if it wasn't there - no.

 

[vaibhav mehta]

I think it also about importance of game in specific country.
Means English people don't care about cricket that much as there are EPL and other sports to get involved.
Where in India Cricket is religion. It is worth to invest money in India for Cricket.