Leighton Levy, Star Writer

Jamaica's economy benefited to the tune of US$25 (J$2b) million from the 2014 season of the Caribbean Premier League. This according to a new independent Economic Impact study released yesterday.

Overall, the Caribbean community saw an injection of US$166 million, an increase of 58 per cent on 2013.

The study, conducted by SMG-Insight/YouGov, one of the world's leading sports measurement, research and analysis companies, showed that country for the finals, St Kitts and Nevis, reaped significant benefits with a whopping US$26.3 million invested in the local economy - second only to Barbados with US$28.7 million. The tournament was won by the Barbados Tridents.

The CPL also pumped US$ 24.5 million and US$21.1 million into the Guyanese and Trinidadian economies, respectively while Antigua and Barbuda benefited to the tune of US$13.8 million, Grenada US$13.3 million, St. Lucia US$13.9 million.

continue growing

According to the study, with an investment of more than US$25 million to date, the CPL is the world's second biggest T20 cricket tournament - behind the Indian Premier League - and is set to continue growing in 2015 and beyond.

"These results are fantastic and are a testament to CPL's significance as an economic driver in the region. While we have always said that the Caribbean is without doubt the natural home of T20 cricket, we are very proud to say that CPL is now a truly international event - appealing to fans and players from around the world - and one that the people of the Caribbean should be very proud of," said Caribbean Premier League CEO, Damien O'Donohoe.

For 2014, the international television audience also showed significant growth with 65 million viewers watching up from 36 million in 2013. Twenty-nine broadcasters from around the world aired the matches live. On the ground, an estimated 217,176 regional and international spectators watched the matches live. Of those numbers, more than 21,500 international visitors, approximately 10 per cent of total spectators, attended CPL 2014, spending US$7.9 million.

The competition also sparked the generation of thousands of jobs in tourism and travel and more than a 156,000 jobs positively impacted, the study said.

O'Donohoe concluded that further growth is expected for next year's renewal. "With next year's player line-ups close to being announced, we are very excited by the prospect of smashing these records in 2015 and further cementing CPL's position as the most entertaining and exciting cricket tournament in the world," he said.