Expressindia> Sports
Group Websites
Expressindia
Indian Express
Financial Express
Screen
Loksatta
Channels
Blogs
Astrology
Shopping
Hotels
Tenders
Classifieds
ExpressQnA


MOST READ

Ads by Google



Font Size - -A +A

Lord's set for $400 million facelift

Reuters

Posted online: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 1916 hrs IST
      

London, February 27:: Lord's, cricket's most famous ground, is set for a 200 million pounds ($398.5 million) redevelopment, owners the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) announced on Wednesday.

Over the next 10 years, five of the northwest London's ground's stands will be redeveloped, though not the 120-year old pavilion, which is a listed building.

Other plans include the building of a hotel, private apartments, a new academy and the installation of floodlights and all come after a series of consultations with the club's 22,000 full and associate members.

"Nearly half of MCC's membership responded and there was overwhelming backing to support the improvement of Lord's for future generations of cricketers, cricket fans and of course members," David Batts, MCC's Masterplan Project Director said on the ground's Web site www.lords.org.

"To achieve this we are in the process of appointing a Masterplan architect who will be tasked with preparing a development plan which will provide an overall approach to the design and layout for the entire Lord's site. MCC are wary of maintaining the unique atmosphere of Lord's and as such remain sensitive that the revamp will not cost the ground in character -- the tiny Allen Stand has housed spectators since 1935 while the Warner Stand is 50 years old."

The MCC has made major improvements to the ground in the last 20 years, with the Compton and Edrich Stands both completely rebuilt in the 1990s and the landmark media centre added in 1999.

At the end of the redevelopment, the ground's capacity, currently 28,000, should exceed 38,000.

Funding will come from the sale of debentures and the apartments.

The ground is owned by the MCC, a private club which still has a major influence on the sport despite handing over most of its official functions to the International Cricket Council and the England and Wales Cricket Board in recent years.

Lord's is also the base for Middlesex County Cricket Club and a regular host of test matches and all major English limited overs competition finals.

It also hosted the finals of the first three cricket World Cups in 1975, 1979 and 1983 and again in 1999.

Ads by Google
Rate this article
 
Post Comment :
Name * Message *
Email ID *
Subject *
TERMS OF USE:
The views represented here are not neccesarily endorsed by www.expressindia.com and its allied websites. All messages will be moderated and no message that has inflammatory, abusive, derogatory language or any language deemed unfit for publication by the editor will be displayed. Though it will be endeavoured that as many messages as possible be displayed, there will be time lag between the submission and publication of the messages. The website reserves the right to publish or reject any message.
I agree to the terms of use.
  • Comments
    Hide Comments
Shaadi Matrimonials Get Marriage Proposals by Email EVERYDAY!
Register FREE on Naukri.com. 200000+ Hot Job Openings!
Book International flights & get 10000 Money Back
Flowers & Gifts
Send flowers & Gifts
Express Classifieds Post and view free classifieds ad
Find Love, Romance & friends
Featured Ads
© 2008 Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd. All rights reserved
The Indian Express Group | Advertise With Us | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Work With Us | Site Map