Surrey County Cricket Club has revealed plans to make the Oval in south London the largest cricket stadium in the UK.
The club has announced it will expand the Oval’s capacity to 40,000, up from 25,500, with the construction of a new stand and the enlargement of one of its existing stands. It is hoped the work will be complete in time for the 2023 Ashes.
Surrey plans to replace the Bedser Stand with a new facility, which could add up to 8,000 seats, while the OCS stand will also be expanded as part of the £50m plans.
The club already has planning permission for a large development next to its pavilion, 1 Oval Square, which could also be able to incorporate additional stadium capacity and facilities.
Related Articles
Lord’s is also set for an overhaul announced by the Marlybone Cricket Club (MCC) which will raise its capacity from 30,000 to approximately 32,000.
In May MCC opened its £22m Warner Stand constructed by BAM.
In the new document titled The Future of Your Ground, the MCC details two proposals for its Lord’s home.
One, known as the Morley Plan, includes the building of two 10-storey blocks of flats next to the Nursery Ground that would fund development to the tune of £100m. That windfall, together with the MCC’s own funds, would go towards the Nursery End and Pavilion End being entirely redeveloped.
The other proposal, known as the Masterplan, would see work carried out on the Compton and Edrich stands and East Gate by 2027 using the club’s own financial resources, costing £89m, before later borrowing funds to carry out similar construction on the Tavern and Allen Stands and North Gate.
The MCC says it would be business as usual while work is carried out, with its statement announcing: “MCC is assuming that it will continue to host its current level of international cricket because of its historically strong ticket sales and confidence that every touring team wants to play at Lord’s.”
