Jamaica Tallawahs owner keen to move base to Florida

Fri, Aug 4, '17

The Jamaica Tallawahs may soon become the Fort Lauderdale Tallawahs, or find a new name altogether, if the team's new owner has his way. Florida-based businessman Kris Persaud, whose Worldwide Sports Management Group (WSMG) purchased the Tallawahs in July, declared his intentions this week to hopefully shift operations for the franchise from Jamaica to Lauderhill where the team would call the Central Broward Regional Park their new home. It would make them the first USA-based cricket franchise in any of the major T20 franchise leagues.

Persaud took over the Tallawahs reins from former owners Ron Parikh and Manish Patel, two Indian immigrants based out of Texas who were content to keep the team in Jamaica. However, Persaud's vision differs, and he is hoping to use the Tallawahs as a springboard for attracting more matches to the stadium in Lauderhill.

Earlier this year, WSMG signed an agreement with the Central Broward Regional Park for exclusive rights for staging international cricket at the facility with a guarantee of three international events per year. Games involving the Tallawahs would ostensibly be a part of that number.