Counties in line for £1 million grants

By Paul Bolton

Counties are in line for a cash injection of £1 million each to improve their facilities from the England and Wales Cricket Board’s new £130 million broadcasting deal with ESPN Star Sports.

The funding will be ring-fenced for capital projects as part of the new Memorandum of Understanding that the ECB is negotiating with the first-class counties and which will run from four years from 2014. Counties will not permitted to spend the ECB money on players’ or coaches’ salaries.

Details of the MOU are still being thrashed out and Gordon Hollins, the ECB’s managing director of county business, declined to discuss figures.

“It’s highly likely that there will be more revenue available for counties. We are looking at various ways that it can be invested to make sure that the game gets a good return from it,” Hollins said.

“I wouldn’t like to talk about numbers because they are not confirmed, but the principle of providing counties with support to do capital projects is one that we do endorse.

“As an organisation we support loud and clear the need for facilities at all of our grounds to be world class because that is the way you attract people and encourage them to come and watch cricket.”

In the past the ECB has provided funding to counties for specific projects such as floodlights or new drainage. This time counties will be asked to submit a business plan to Lord’s and the ECB will provide funding to support each county’s needs..

“We have 18 counties with 18 different sets of priorities and we are trying to align the funding model to help counties achieve their individual objectives rather than being one-size-fits-all,” Hollins said.

“The principle of us working with counties on their own individual business plans is moving forward. We will then work with the counties to help them deliver their plan..

“We want to make sure that, by the end of the term of the MOU, cricket is in a stronger, more robust position. We are lucky as a sport that we have got committed cash for a four to six-year period which gives us a real opportunity to plan.”



Date: 09/06/2012 11:14:13 by Paul Bolton
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