Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club’s Trent Bridge ground is expected to get £8m of public money for a revamp.
Three councils are giving the iconic venue loans to increase its capacity, improve facilities for the media and refurbish the pavilion.
The total is being split between Rushcliffe Borough Council and the city and county councils.
Trent Bridge is seen as a key part of the local economy, bringing in 17,000 people a day during major test matches.
Tens of millions of pounds were brought into the city and county by fans in August when the ground hosted an Ashes test between England and Australia, with England clinching the series win.
Keeping the ground up to date is seen as key part of attracting more big international matches in future.
Rushcliffe has already agreed its share, Nottingham City Council approved its portion last night and the County Council will meet next month to make a final decision on its contribution.
The money will also go towards work on the William Clarke Stand and will be paid back over twenty years, with all three councils making a profit through earning interest from the club.
Profile: Trent Bridge
- Founder William Clarke saw the potentional of a quaint little meadow at the back of the Trent Bridge Inn in 1838
- He married his landlady Mary Chapman, and they started off playing matches with friends
- Trent Bridge held it’s first international cricket match in 1899 between England and Australia
- It hosted the first match of the first five-match series in England
- It can now host 17,000 people on a match day
The ground has hosted county and test cricket since 1838 and is the third oldest in the world.
Graham Chapman, Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council said: ““There is a competition these days. You’ve now got Durham, you’ve now got South Wales, you’ve got Cardiff and therefore if you don’t keep your standards up they will allocate the good matches to these places.
“So we have got to keep investing and keeping it going. It is massive for the city, it’s the world-wide publicity you get out of it but it’s also the number of visitors that come in, spend money on the pubs, shops and hotels, so it’s very, very important that we keep it.”
Jennifer Spencer, Chief Executive of Experience Nottinghamshire said: “I think Trent Bridge is a fantastic asset for the city and the county. It’s a very popular ground which is very much revered by overseas players and visitors alike.
“It’s done extremely well in the Ashes that we’ve had this summer and that we also had in 2013. I think this investment, if it comes to fruition, will very much put them in an important place for the next two decades really in what they will be able to deliver and what they will be able to bid for in terms of ECB packages.”
However, people from Nottingham had mixed views about council’s plans. Sally Jiardini from Hucknall said: “I don’t think that the cricket ground needs that money spending on it, I think that £8m can be spent elsewhere in Nottingham, things that really need doing.”
Paulo Novellinl from Mapperly said: “It’s a waste of money. Because they’ve got to spend the money on something else. Something useful. Because cricket clubs are already there. Why spend all that money when it’s already okay anyway.”
Megan Johnson from Mansfield said: “I think it’s a really good idea because I’ve been to watch the cricket and I think it would give the fans a bit more atmosphere as well.”
