4
Cover Story
SAFE
INNINGS
Sport can help lead the way back for events, and all eyes
are on Emirates Old Trafford as they host the West Indies
in a bio-secure environment. Martin Fullard explores
We all know the story by now:
Covid-19 came, and all events went.
The cancellation of sporting events
is an obvious example of the impact
of the virus, and in many cases the
vast sums of money related to them
forces organisers and venues to
think creatively.
Emirates Old Trafford in May
confirmed that it had been selected
by the England and Wales Cricket
Board (ECB) as one of two venues to
host the Test Series behind closed
doors against the West Indies,
starting in July subject to
government clearance. The other
venue chosen was the Ageas Bowl in
Southampton.
The West Indies squad arrived in
the UK on 9 June, and travelled to
the Manchester venue for
quarantining and training and has
remained their base for a
three-week period before moving to
the Ageas Bowl for the start of the
first Test.
The selection of the venue was
supported by the on-site four-star
Hilton Garden Inn, which has
150-bedrooms. Ahead of the
fixtures, the venue introduced
additional safety protocols and
procedures, including rigorous deep
cleaning measures, providing PPE
for all players and staff on-site,
social distancing measures being
put in place adhering to government
guidelines and increased hand
sanitisers at each touch point for all
on-site.
The work that has gone into
ensuring a ‘bio-secure’ environment
offers a glimpse of what a business
event may look like should the
Covid-19 pandemic take its time to
dissipate and more rigorous
guidance be in place for the long
haul. Certainly, there are lessons
event organisers and venues can
take from the exercise.
Steve Davies, the venue’s director
of operations, says that in order to
get the event going, the venue had to
undertake a rigorous risk
assessment. “We have been
working on plenty of risk
assessments, in total probably in the
region of 30 different ones for our
site,” he says. “We had to cover
every aspect of the event, because it
is not just the cricket, we need to
feed people, we need to house
them, and they need to sleep.
“We initially started the whole
thing with a return to training. The
return to training guidance came
from the Government, and explained
what we needed to do to facilitate
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