Lord's Masterplan - FAQs
Following the biggest survey in Marylebone Cricket Club's 220-year history, The Club have issued a statement regarding the Masterplan for the development of Lord's.
Below are some of the frequently occurring questions regarding the Masterplan. Click a question to find the answer:
- What might you do to Lord’s over the next few years?
- Why does Lord’s need redeveloping?
- How will you go about achieving this?
- How long will it take?
- How much will it cost?
- How will you fund it?
- What’s in it for the public?
- What’s in it for the members?
- What’s in it for the players?
- Will this change help develop future cricketers?
- Will ticket prices go up to pay for this?
- Can local transport facilities cope with an increase in capacity at Lord’s?
What might you do to Lord’s over the next few years?
Key to any development will be increasing capacity giving more people the opportunity to see matches at Lord’s. We need to improve the ‘Lord’s experience’ and provide better facilities, shops, cafes, restaurants. Improving access to the ground for fans, visitors and local community is also central to our plans.
We also want to develop the indoor school into an international cricket laboratory with a sports injury clinic and treatment rooms, plus analysis suite and gymnasium. We have set up a world cricket committee to advise on this and ensure it is a truly world class facility that reflects Lord’s place as the ‘think tank’ as well as the home for cricket. This will also give more young players from all backgrounds top-class cricket facilities and benefit professional cricketers’ preparation for test and county matches.
Why does Lord’s need redeveloping?
Improving Lord’s will ensure that it retains its position as the most famous cricket ground in the world and the sport’s spiritual home. To achieve this we need to bring the ground into the twenty first century and deliver top class spectating and playing facilities.
How will you go about achieving this?
We are currently overseeing a competition to select an architect to masterplan the development. A shortlist of five architects was announced on 17 April 2008; they are BDP (Building Design Partnership), David Chipperfield Architects, Dixon Jones, Herzog & de Meuron, and Hopkins Architects.
The MCC has also appointed a special panel to review the responses from the shortlisted practices, conduct interviews and make a recommendation for approval to the MCC Committee.
The panel chairman is MCC Member Sir John Egan, former chief executive of Jaguar and BAA. He is joined on the panel by respected figures representing the Club, architecture and property development who will help ensure that the winning submission incorporates all the key elements of the vision for Lord’s.
They are David Batts, Professor Ricky Burdett, Robert Griffiths QC, Blake Gorst, Charles Rifkind and Sir Nicholas Serota.
MCC hopes to announce the winning architect in early summer 2008. The selected architect will be tasked with looking at all the options for improving the ground and its facilities. This will provide an integrated approach to the development and ensure minimal disruption to cricket matches.
How long will it take?
At this stage it is too early to give a completion date for all the work we have in mind. We would hope to start the physical development in around two years, assuming approval from Westminster City Council and the Mayor.
How much will it cost?
That depends on how much we intend to do, but we are talking about a multi-million programme. Increasing capacity alone will cost around £100 million at today’s prices.
How will you fund it?
We anticipate funding coming from a combination of debenture seat income, a sensible level of borrowing, and possible enabling development on the ground's edges (subject, of course, to planning consent.)
The debentures in particular provide the club with long-term loans and the income to allow it to build up its financial assets so it can develop the ground. This is similar to debenture schemes at the Oval and Twickenham that have facilitated much-needed improvements.
What’s in it for the public?
We’d like to improve the ‘Lord’s experience’. This includes ensuring that as many spectators are undercover as possible, providing them with better catering facilities, improving access (including for people with disabilities) and circulation in and around the ground, and providing better information at the ground entrances.
In addition we would like a larger and more easily accessible museum, an improved film theatre and a better shop. These will be located so that people can visit throughout the year and not just during matches.
What’s in it for the members?
MCC members are central to Lord’s and any improvements that are proposed are fully consulted on. Late last year the MCC carried out the largest ever consultation of its members with a questionnaire asking their opinions on improvements to the ground. Nearly half of members responded and the feedback was incredibly positive with an overwhelming sense of approval for the ideas proposed.
Of the dozen issues highlighted by the club for members to consider, no less than ten were considered by at least two thirds of the members to be either very or fairly important. This suggests a strong amount of support for more or less all aspects of the proposed programme of improvements.
That said two major issues stand out. These are increasing the capacity and introducing retractable floodlights, where 96% and 91% consider these to be very or fairly important, and in both cases well over 2/3rds say very important (77% and 69% respectively). This clearly reflects the desire of members to see more people enjoying cricket more often at Lord’s, both the traditional format and day night games.
What’s in it for the players?
As the sport’s home, Lord’s is the place where every cricketer wants to play. We want to deliver even better facilities including a new academy, new players’ pavilion on the Nursery ground and better practicing and changing amenities. This will improve the Lord’s experience for all players - young, old, amateur and professional - who visit and train at the ground.
Will this change help develop future cricketers?
We want to create a new international cricket laboratory through a new improved indoor school for the cricket academy with a sports injury clinic and treatment rooms, plus analysis suite and gymnasium.
We have also set up a world cricket committee to advise on this to ensure that this is a truly world class facility that reflects Lord’s place as the ‘think tank’ as well as the home for cricket.
Will ticket prices go up to pay for this?
At this stage it is far too early to discuss ticket prices but it will be important to us to remain competitive while responding to the demand for tickets.
We currently offer a range of competitively priced tickets and where we have the chance will continue to offer free entry for children to certain games and discounted tickets for all others.
Can local transport facilities cope with an increase in capacity at Lord’s?
Any proposal which increases visitor numbers will need to be assessed in terms of transport infrastructure. We will therefore discuss this with Transport for London and WCC and draw up a traffic impact study and transport plan as part of the masterplanning process
We do though have four tube stations and one mainline station within 15 minutes walk of the ground, as well as seven bus services running immediately alongside Lord's – so the ground is relatively well served already.