Sta£e of the Nation - County Cricket Finances

The biggest % fallers were Catering -39%

I wonder, is this why Sussex went for outside caterers last season or is this loss partly because of them? Given the huge amounts
of income counties like Lancashire gain from catering, it is such a pity Sussex can't make money from this area? And why was
there such a loss at Blackstone given how regularly the ground is used.

Presumably contracting out Catering means no income; we should note that for 16/17 there was an expense for Catering (206k) which this year is 0. Catering profit was for 16/17 402k and 17/18 248. So contracting out seems to have led to a 38% profit fall.
Re Blackstone for each year income equals expenditure, so I guess the fall is down to usage.

Brilliant stuff from the ECB based around the huge increase of SKY revenue thanks partly to The 100, where the 18 counties will greatly
financially benefit on top of their annual £1.3m each gift over the next 5 years.

Q: Any guesses how much Sussex CCC will be ££££given towards their ground revamp?

Well done Warwickshire and Edgbaston. The difference between success and failure for the TMGs is whether or not the ECB
have assigned them International matches during the Summer.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/51496670

Two posts yesterday have inspired me to think about where things are going as far as County Cricket is concerned. The first of these two posts by flashblade entitled 'County Championship - a change of format?' was triggered by an article in The Times suggesting that the Counties were in favour of the Bob Willis Trophy format and a competition with three groups of six, playing each county in that group home and away. The second post at the end of the Middlesex match thread from @"Wicked Cricket" opened with the words "I must repeat white ball cricket, in particular the T20, is the way for Sussex to go post-Covid."

Later, I posted that if the County Championship (or Bob Willis Trophy) is reduced to 5 home and 5 away games, particularly if they are shoe-horned into the months at either end of the cricket season, I would be unlikely to renew my membership. I don't mind a bit of beer and T20, but I find three or four games per season enough - and, what's more, I only enjoy them if Sussex win. Red ball games can be enjoyable win, draw or lose (unless it's a thumping loss).

If red ball cricket is reduced with fewer games, this conveniently makes way for more T20, Hundred and, I suppose, 50-over cricket. It's all very well saying that the money comes from T20 - and it does for the Counties - but when it comes to international cricket the same is not true. I don't know the facts but I expect the revenue from 7 Tests that are crammed in most summers exceeds by far the income from England's T20 matches. Indeed, although I am admittedly not a great fan of T20, I find the T20 series that England play especially tedious and instantly forgettable. 

So, where is cricket going? Is it hoping that revenue is maximised by England Tests, T20 County Cricket and The Hundred (let's not get into a debate about The Hundred here!)? There seems to be some sort of chicken and egg problem though. Where do the Test players come from if red ball is downgraded? And will the 'new audience' be demanding 30+ England T20 games every summer? Or, are we heading for a split where there are two sports? You could argue that the England team is starting to become split between red ball and white ball players. And, several on this forum have observed that the Sussex playing staff is split between red and white ball.

I wonder where the members of County Cricket teams want cricket to go. If red ball County Cricket is relegated too far, I will find something else to do with my time. I had already written off August this year when The Hundred was scheduled to take place. Covid is likely to quicken things, but I see some worrying signs - at least, from my point of view. And, that's what happens with money, we spend on what we want to and if Sussex crammed in 60 T20 games each summer, I would probably attend no more than a handful.

Interesting times.

ECB reporting a thumping loss for 2020. £100 million and counting! 62 jobs to go. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/54161886