Gloucestershire Cricket been considering move for years, chief exec says
We have sat down for a chat with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club chief executive Will Brown, days after it was revealed the club may move out of Bristol
Last updated 8th Dec 2023
The boss of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club says they have been considering moving to a new ground for as long as two and a half years.
Greatest Hits Radio has spoken to chief executive Will Brown, days after The Telegraph revealed the club is considering selling the Seat Unique Stadium, to fund a move outside of Bristol.
The club's current ground on Nevil Road has hosted Gloucestershire since the 1880s, making it one of England's most historic cricket venues, but this week's news means its future is now highly uncertain.
What is the idea?
A statement shared on the club website says Gloucestershire Cricket is "exploring opportunities for a new stadium" in South Gloucestershire.
The club says that to ensure the "competitiveness" and "long-term sustainability" of the club, it must consider relocating.
The reasons given, include that as the club continues to grow into the future, "the strain on infrastructure and facilities at Nevil Road will become increasingly challenging" as will access to and from the ground.
Crucially from the club's point of view, a new ground in a less enclosed area would provide the opportunity for "a much greater range of diverse and sustainable revenue streams".
Increasingly in the modern day the most successful cricket grounds boast on site hotels and/or conference centres, that provide the club with an income even when cricket is not happening on the pitch.
With the Seat Unique Stadium totally surrounded by residential properties, there is no opportunity to expand in such a way at their current ground.
Moreover, two years ago in July 2021 the England Cricket Board (ECB) launched new white ball tournament The Hundred aiming to attract a new audience to the game, but Gloucestershire's Seat Unique Stadium was not chosen as a venue for any of the teams involved, therefore meaning the club is hugely missing out on the revenue created.
It is thought that moving to a new, purpose built ground, could allow for the creation of a new team based at that stadium.
Where would they go?
Somewhere north of Bristol in South Gloucestershire is the club's preferred option.
A move north would take them closer to Cheltenham, where the club currently hosts the Cheltenham Cricket Festival each summer.
"Following a period of consultation with South Gloucestershire Council spanning several months, we have identified potential sites that might allow for the required growth of Gloucestershire Cricket, the preferred site being situated in South Gloucestershire, close by to the M4 near Bristol," the statement on the club's website reads.
"Our intention is to develop a stadium that is not only much more accessible to larger parts of the county of Gloucestershire, but is also purpose built to host the highest level of world cricket events including ICC fixtures, and would mean Gloucestershire has an even more attractive venue for hosting white-ball franchise tournaments."
We sit down with Gloucestershire CCC chief executive Will Brown
"It's been a really exciting time, to be able to talk to people," Will Brown said.
"We've been thinking about these plans and potential opportunities for probably around two and a half years if not more now, probably the last couple of years with a bit more intent around them, so it is nice (to be talking about it).
"It's a bit like getting to the starting line of a race really, there's actually a lot of preparation that goes in before that.
"So it's been really good talking to people, the response has been really warm so far."
Q: What do you mean by saying the club is "beginning to outgrow" Nevil Road?
"It's not one particular answer, but a good example would be practically, Nevil Road can be quite challenging at points," he said.
"We've obviously only really got two principle entrances and exits and...particularly on the days where attendances and numbers are a bit higher that does make it a bit more challenging and obviously puts a lot of challenges on the (road) network.
"We've got a lot of what are effectively single lane highways feeding into certainly one half of the ground in particular and again, you can live with them but the reality is all you need is for a delivery lorry or scaffolding lorry or something to be in one of those roads and the whole network grounds to a holt..."
Q: It's insinuated in this news that the club is struggling financially. Is that true?
"Financially we've had a difficult two years," Brown said.
"That does come off the back of, we've traded a surplus or profit in seven out of the previous eight years so, when we started these conversations we were healthier.
"The big purpose of this is about de-risking things and improving our income streams.
"It's not driven by the financial position of the club as it is now because we can manage that effectively and we've got a good plan for growth at a consistent level at the Nevil Road site, but it's about how do we ensure that we are not just dependent on one big men's international match a year for our pay day, for example."
Q: Some feel the current ground, being close to Bristol City Centre, near Gloucester Road and with an Ashley Down Railway Station coming soon, is more accessible than a new site would be. What's your view?
"We are very sensitive to the residents that are close to the ground, those that are new arrivals and those that have been there for a long time," he said.
"This is all very much, it's important to re-emphasis that we are exploring the potential here, there is no guarantee, we haven't found anywhere definite to go to...we are exploring that opportunity.
"And, for all the great things of being able to walk up to the ground, it is great in that respect and that connection through to Gloucester Road has always been really, really important to us, but actually the ground itself is lacking in terms of that ability to generate, particularly revenue from sources outside of just pure cricket....
"As to where we could end up if we did end up anywhere else, clearly the transport infrastructure to get there is massively important, it's a hugely important element of what we would do and be looking at.
"This is not a solo project, we talked around the ambitions of places like South Gloucestershire and what they may want to do locally, and clearly it would make sense that this would be aligned potentially or close to future residential developments etc...
"It's pretty much top of our list actually in terms of the conversations we'll be having over the future weeks and months in terms of what a good site could look like, would be how accessible is it?"
Q: You've talked about wanting to leave a lasting cricket legacy at the Nevil Road site. Are you able to elaborate on what that means?
"Not especially," he said.
"The short answer is we wouldn't want to speculate on that...
"What I would say is we acknowledge and feel very strongly that Nevil Road has been a really important part of our history..."
Q: Do you have a preferred time scale for all of this to happen?
"It's a bit of a non answer I guess but it will take as long as it will take for us to get there."
Q: What's the response been like from club membership?
"It's been very supportive actually, I think that would be the phrase I would use.
"People have done as we would've hoped in that everyone has been very considered, which doesn't surprise me at all, we've got a great group of members...
"The message we seem to be getting is, continue to explore (the options).
"It's understandable that we've been looking at the things we've been looking at..."
Q: Lastly, particularly among the flats that overlook the ground there is nervousness now about how this could impact the value of properties. What's your message to those residents?
"What I would say is, we understand the nervousness.
"We've spoken to local residents via letter...we would love to hear people's thoughts and if that includes people's anxieties as well as thoughts that's absolutely fine.
"There's an email I believe on that letter that went out...but it is still very, very, very early days, I would just say that...
"I appreciate that doesn't help in giving people the certainty that they want, but we will update when we have a bit more certainty hopefully, which may not be till the Spring next year, but that will be the next date we'll be looking to update people."
If you live near the Seat Unique Stadium and want to give your views on the idea, you can email residents@glosccc.co.uk.