Sydney, May 2 (ANI): The historic Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has announced a 200-million-pound plan to make a much-needed improvement of the iconic Lord's ground in England.
MCC chief executive Derek Brewer had unveiled a detailed project, which is the culmination of years of internal debate and conflict, and is a watered-down version of the original 400 million-pound plan announced in 2008, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
According to the report, the new vision for Lord's does not include any residential buildings and instead concentrates on revamping facilities for members, supporters and staff, with overall capacity set to rise from 2,700 to 32,000.
Colin Maber, the chairman of a ground working party which has spent the past year researching the plan, said that although that the Lord's is the envy of the cricketing world, significant work is needed if the MCC is to maintain its ambition to continue to own the finest cricket ground in the world.
Proposing a masterplan that can be undertaken on a low risk, self-funded basis, Maber said that the phasing allows for flexibility in expenditure, which ensures that it will never incure huge debts while re-developing like a few other cricket grounds in England.
Maber further said that they are not under any undue pressure to undertake redevelopment so if their financial position becomes tighter, their time limit can be extended, adding that they will build whenever they can afford to do so.
According to the report, the first phase of building, costing 90 million pounds, will be funded from the wealthy club's coffers with the second part boosted by 'sensible levels of borrowing', adding that funding the project will be crucial if the ground continues to host two Tests matches every year, which is a highly lucrative source of income. (ANI)
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