Summer Cricket Matches Expected To Produce $6.5M Economic Return For ACT Government

Cricket ACT will not get a "financial windfall, despite hosting Canberra's biggest summer of cricket, but the ACT government is expecting tourism to gain in a big way," according to David Polkinghorne of the CANBERRA TIMES. Canberra will host the Australian team in a "one-day international for the second time, the Big Bash League final, three Cricket World Cup games, the Prime Minister's XI game against England and some World Cup warm-up games as well." Cricket ACT, however, will make money "only from the PM's game; the World Cup or Cricket Australia will get the gate receipts from the other matches." The "wider public" will also receive benefits this summer. The government "forked out" A$2.5M to be a World Cup host city and is "expecting an economic return" of more than A$7M ($6.5M). A total TV audience of "almost one billion viewers is expected across the whole competition" (CANBERRA TIMES, 8/1).