Sta£e of the Nation - County Cricket Finances

Somerset's are knocking down the old pavilion this winter, I believe, and have begun a £4 million redevlopment. Will that take the capacity up to 15,000  by the time they host the England v South Africa match in 2017? Impressive if it does, as it will be more thasn double the previous capacity.

Glos have had to scale their plans for  a 20,000 seater stadium down to 17,000  and have just spend I think £6 or £7 million on the new pavilion and grandstand. Not sure to what level  that has increased the capacity, but they seem quite safe from Somerset's ambitions to "take over" for the moment - they've  been awarded ODIs in 2017, 2018 and 2019 in the carve-up of England matches announced today.

Sounds to me a rather stupid idea. The ground is just too small. The facilities are good, it's the playing area. Subuteo cricket. Smallest boundaries end to end I've ever seen in 1st class cricket.

It's becoming a joke all these counties trying to be test grounds.

Lets try and get some decent players? We've seen that some that went to Sri Lanka just aren't up to it. Time to look deeper. Attacking batsmen, attacking bowlers. Even bowlers who can bat and field (and batters who can field).
Stop the media hype of Morgan (he got nearly as many wickets as runs in most games), Frasers boy! Butler too. Over rated, 1 innings and they tell him he's a world beater! Who's he play for? Lancs, Moores old county! Relegated!
Can you see an England football or rugby team picking from the championship? No, only in cricket would it happen.
Too few Sussex boys involved at England, Lions and other related squads.
Robbo you need to push some of these boys.

Ranting, sorry,

Happy Christmas to you everyone on here

Bm,

The best Sussex can hope for are the occasional international Women's events. What holds the Club back is its location. Where
would 15,000 people potentially park? It's a nightmare already. Perhaps, bus rides up from Withdean Stadium is the only logical
outcome.

Back in the mid noughties when the ground development was first discussed, selling the Hove ground and moving to a new start
in Pease Pottage was mooted. But that idea was quickly scrapped. Therefore, you have to look at the ground's strengths. Being in
the middle of a City - a City by the way which is the most prosperous in Britain (read the Argus report below), there are two
obvious areas: Parking and retail. But I have banged on about the 'Sussex CCC Village' for several years now - a scheme which
potentially 'could' attract an additional off-field £2m a year on top of conferences, weddings etc.. but the club have made it clear
they do not wish to go down this commercial retail route, even though Kent make an annual £75,000 rent from their 'Sainsbury's'
outlet. Sussex view is to remain cautious and create 6 small offices instead in the north-west corner.

www.theargus.co.uk/news/11673750.Economic_growth_in_Brighton_and_Hove_outstrips_the_rest_of_the_country/?ref=eb

The problem is this: In 3 to 5 years, more ambitious non-TMG counties like Essex and Somerset, may find themselves awash with
additional money from off-field revenue and will be in a much stronger position to strengthen their playing squads.

Our Chairman has chosen the cautious, safe and prudent route which given the uncertainty of the West's economy moving forward,
may in hindsight, prove to be the right path. On the other hand, if the property market remains buoyant then Essex will benefit
greatly from constructing their 4 tower apartment blocks and as ODIs become ever more prevalent so will Somerset.

Towie-Zowie!



Will Sussex be left behind in this impending off-field commercial revolution where the ambitious thrive and the prudent merely
survive?

Only time will tell.

Bm,

I believe once Sussex gained their £12m legacy, any sympathy from county and local councils went out of the window.
Will the Greens remain in power after May? 

An interview with Jim May carried out by Adrian Harms.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=meaJNHxS0Yg&feature=youtu.be&list=UU50wZUsUCBzXWsFn0vmaOAA

Another with Mark Robinson.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/30499561

Bm,

As you say an upbeat interview full of promise to come.

Other points include the club being on the cutting edge of women's and disability
cricket; that Horsham and Arundel are given a chance to improve their downsides
next season with Eastbourne as the stick. And when Mark Robinson does finally leave
Sussex, it seems likely either Mark Davis or Carl Hopkinson will take over due to the
club's policy of continuity which has worked well in the past. Certainly, no room for
Chris Adams.

The off-field revenue has improved a great deal since three years ago and it's good to
have affirmed that the club feel a similar way about the fixture list as supporters.

My one humble suggestion is for the club treasurer. Communicate far more clearly to
the media that an operating profit was accrued for 2014. Otherwise, due to depreciation,
Sussex will end up with a £150,000 loss and the headlines will be "Sussex CCC suffer
their fifth straight annual deficit" and that is what the Members/Supporters will read.
The operating profit should be the story and not the overall loss.

We will post an operating profit but will record an accounting loss due to depreciation of over £500k per annum. We believe that our way of recording is more prudent than some other counties

In the longer run if our business improves the way we want it to by 2018 we may be in a position to set up an endowment fund to enable our successors to refurbish the ground in say twenty years time.

175 years young and a big duty of us all on the Sussex Board is as custodians for future generations rather than chase short term glory!!

December 19th was a huge day for Essex CCC as their much lauded ambitious plans for an off-field Chelmsford commercial revolution
finally materialised after 9 years in the planning. It was the topping ceremony held on the roof of Tower 'A' to signify the completion of
the first apartment tower’s structure.

It is the first of four such towers to be built that will provide around 350 new homes in the area of New Writtle Street, in Chelmsford, and
cost upwards of £85 million by the time of completion. The land, which was just overgrown shrubbery in March, will also include 15,000
sq. ft. of retail and leisure facilities surrounding a new public piazza area, all served by a new pedestrian bridge across the River Can,
providing improved routes through to Central Park and the town centre.

Tower 'A' Plans



Nick Bache, Essex-based operations director at developer Kier Group, said: "This is a huge milestone for us to get to this point and a journey
years in the making.” He continued, “I'll be able to say to my family that 'I helped build that' and that will be something I'll be really proud of."

Representatives from the Kier Group and Birmingham-based developer MCD joined players from Essex County Cricket Club and deputy mayor
Councillor Sandra Pontin at the ceremony.

The Finances

Tower 'A' is the smallest of the four proposed towers yet its significance is vital to the whole project. 61 of the 62 apartments have been pre-sold
which allows Essex now to move on to the core of their ambitious property plans - the key phase 2 and the building of Towers 'B' and 'C' alongside
the public piazza.The project is financial elegance personified.

www.essexcricket.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Essex-Development-Brochure.pdf

The cost of building Tower 'A' will be around £12m. Completion date is set for September 2015. The down-payment for construction builder ‘MCD’
comes from the pre-selling of the apartments. Flats have sold for between £220k when the property market was at its lowest ebb but have risen
since with penthouse apartments now selling for up to £340k. If one takes an average of £300k per apartment this comes to £18.6m - so around
a £5m-£6m profit. This profit is then used to improve the present ground facilities with new stands leading to a higher 8,000 seating capacity, cricket
and media facilities, new pavilion, offices for rental, improved conferencing facilities, a piazza to include a coffee shop and retail outlets - even a
multi-storey car park for spectators and local shoppers.

For a small non-TMG the ambition is breath-taking.

On top of this Essex CCC will accrue an annual lease rent from each apartment. ‘If’ all the tower blocks are built and a majority of the 350 luxury
apartments sold (includes 45 social housing), then this annual lease rent along with other rental income could increase Essex’s present off-field revenue
by up to three times. As stadium manager Graham Childs points out: “We can attract the best cricketing talent and potentially become one of the top
clubs.” And Chairman Nigel Hilliard added: “It’s going to be another few years before we see the fruits of our labour but I believe it’s going to make a
big difference for us.”

Two apartments in Tower 'B' have already been pre-sold. This key second phase will cost £45m and the final one £25m. 



www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1nNVGsGhME

But as ever with such an ambitious project there are still various ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’.This commercial revolution relies heavily on a buoyant property market
but economic analysts suggest that with low UK interest rates set for some years this can only aid the market. Yet, further elegance to this project is
its flexibility. Build a tower at a time and then see what happens.  

The man who should be given a majority of the plaudits is Keith Brown, chairman of the ground development panel of Essex CCC, who dared to dream big.
He says, “After years in the planning and overcoming numerous hurdles to start this development, the structural completion of Tower A is a huge step forward.”

If the four towers "are completed" and the 350 apartments sold, then Essex CCC deserve all the future financial success available both on and off the field.
Their ambition is a credit to county cricket and shows what can be achieved when both desire and need unite.