Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club Vice-Chairman Richard Tennant has praised the vision of Nottinghamshire County Council in providing a £900,000 grant to support the funding of a £1.8 million replay screen set to enhance the experience of ticket holders when Trent Bridge hosts the first Investec Ashes test in July.
Richard joined Councillor Kay Cutts and Councillor John Cottee on a tour of the site of the £1.8 million development as main contractors Bowmer and Kirkland applied the finishing touches to the building that will house the largest outdoor screen in Europe.
Nottinghamshire County Council provided a grant of £900,000 to part-finance the building of the screen having recognised the community, economic and reputational benefits of preserving Test cricket at Trent Bridge. More than 300 local jobs have also been generated to develop the scoreboard by subcoontractors.
“This development will help to preserve Test Cricket which will in turn enable the Club to continue to deliver schemes for the benefit of the community and the local economy."
“The sheer size of the screen and the quality of it is breathtaking and it will be a special moment when the first ball is bowled at the outset of the Ashes series,” said Richard.
“Nottinghamshire County Council have been steadfast supporters of our efforts to ensure the long-term prosperity of Test cricket in Nottinghamshire because the knock-on effects of games of this type are huge.
“We have committed to the delivery of a social inclusion project in Hawtonville as a condition of this funding where we will use the same model that has delivered an 80% reduction in juvenile crime in Cotgrave over the past three years.”
Councillor Cutts was quick to praise the design of the screen, provided by architect Huw Evans of Maber Associates, and determined to re-affirm the business case for the funding provision.
“It is unthinkable to imagine Trent Bridge without Test Matches but that was a genuine possibility before the funding was in place to deliver the second replay screen,” said Cllr Cutts.
“This development will help to preserve Test Cricket which will in turn enable the Club to continue to deliver schemes for the benefit of the community and the local economy.
“Furthermore, these matches will place Nottinghamshire in the global spotlight, particularly when the world’s media descend this July.”