Midlands celebrities Frank Skinner and Graham Taylor have thrown their weight behind Edgbaston cricket ground’s multi-million pound transformation, which is set to be completed in a matter of weeks.
The new Broadway Malyan-designed £32 million development – which will be handed over to Warwickshire Cricket Club on July 1 – will include a new stand taking the capacity to 25,000, a new media centre as well as conferencing and corporate facilities.
Former Villa and England manager Taylor and comedian Skinner have signed up as members of the exclusive 1882 Club and sales of individual and corporate packages for the new facilities including the Jaguar Club have also more than met the club’s aspirations, according to commercial boss James McLaughlin.
“The whole development has been really well received by local and regional business and great take up on the packages where we have been very keen not to price people out of the market,” he said.
“Our aim is to get as many companies into Edgbaston as possible and really convince people that Edgbaston is a great place to come and do business.
"We have companies that have taken 10 packages because they see they have a world-class venue on their doorstep where there are the facilities they are used to.”
He added that while the cricket side of the business continued to thrive – the venue is heading for a non-Ashes record year in terms of ticket sales for the India Test in August – the venue was now on the radar as a corporate venue.
He said: “Putting up the Jaguar Club marquee has helped people realise that we are going to be a serious challenger in the conference and exhibition market and we are in a very strong position to drive growth in that area. We have got to be sustainable as a business regardless of the cricket.”
Once the stand has been handed over to the club there will be just two weeks before the first floodlit match on July 15 and then the India Test begins on August 10 so there will be plenty of work to do over the next two months according to the club’s chief executive Colin Povey.
