Edgbaston is a sporting jewel
In 49 days, Birmingham will be faced with one of the biggest sporting dilemmas in its history.
By June 4, Warwickshire County Cricket Club (WCCC) will need to put its bids together for staging future international matches at its world famous Edgbaston Ground.
If by then Birmingham City Council has failed to agree planning permission for a £32 million improvement plan for the ground, Edgbaston’s chances of remaining an international sporting arena will be slim.
The English Cricket Board are unlikely to agree to allow Edgbaston to stage Test and other international matches and are likely to grant them to venues that have moved with the times.
Edgbaston faces serious competition from grounds new to the global stage, like Cardiff, Durham and the Rose Bowl at Southampton in additional to traditional venues like Lords, the Oval, Headingley, Trent Bridge and Old Trafford. All of those grounds have moved to meet ECB Category A status, which includes a requirement for permanent floodlights.
The groundswell of opposition to the Edgbaston plans comes from local councillors and residents.
Their main objections centre around the floodlights and increased traffic on match days.
However, permanent lights would emit less “spillage” away from the ground than temporary ones.
Traffic disruption is a fact of life when you choose to live in the shadow of an international sporting arena. At Edgbaston that is only likely to be serious when the ground is full – on about three or four days a year.
The arguments against Edgbaston to expand and thus retain its international status are unsustainable.
The city must rise above local politics and start to appreciate what an important international venue Edgbaston is..
Arguments that funding Edgbaston would deprive other needy causes are fatuous. The money will come from central funding.
Other objectors include Warwickshire members. Someone once famous described this band as the “badged and the blazered” who were largely drawn from the ranks of supporters and amateur volunteers. You imagine they would prefer to retain the wonderful ambience of a village cricket club but Edgbaston should be an international arena.
All of the first-class rugby union clubs in our parish failed to grasp the economic and sporting necessities of moving with the times when their sport changed dramatically a few years ago.
The same will apply to Warwickshire CCC if Birmingham fails to support its international sporting jewel.
* John Lamb is press and PR manager at the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.
