ANNUAL REPORT 2019

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2019 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 14 Hospitality at Restaurant Six project to upgrade and increase our media and broadcast facilities ahead of theWorld Cup and to ensure our compliance in an important area ahead of the next five-year cycle of major matches. Our decision to include a hospitality and dining space on the sixth floor is part of a wider medium-term plan to maximise the usage of our venue on the in excess of 300 days per year when we are not hosting cricket.Trent Bridge has a reputa- tion for delivering a quality cricket experience. Our aim is to build on that and further establish our venue as a place to visit right at the heart of our community. Our investment into a brand-new business, Restaurant Six, as a recent addition to our offering is designed to raise the profile of Trent Bridge as a year-round destination and a premium event space. It has been very positively received on the thriv- ing Nottingham dining scene and has welcomed both members and first timers to our wonderful venue in its first year of operation. As we look ahead to 2020 and on-field matters,Trent Bridge will not only play host to a busy Notts domestic season but alsoTest and ODI cricket, the final of The Royal London Cup and the inaugural year of The Hundred. When it comes to piecing all of this together into a coherent schedule, the ECB have a difficult task.The volume of cricket makes it impos- sible for us to play all our matches at Trent Bridge, but it does offer an opportunity for us to take some List A cricket to venues in Grantham and Welbeck which have worked hard to provide facilities worthy of hosting professional cricket.Their surround- ing communities will benefit from high-quality competitive cricket on their doorstep – and that is positive for our outreach as a county club. Despite the fixture congestion, Trent Bridge is scheduled to host two more days of Nottinghamshire cricket in 2020 than in the previous year – and that includes all seven of our home County Championship matches. A concerted effort was made to provide a greater volume of red-ball cricket on weekends or bank holi- days, and the Vitality Blast schedule provides a range of different days of the week for supporters to choose from. I know, meanwhile, that The Hundred will not be for everyone – but that it will be welcomed and enjoyed by many of you. An acces- sible price point for our members is something for which we lobbied the ECB, and we hope the pricing strat- egy that’s been recently announced will allow those of you who are keen to attend to do so without price being a barrier. The Hundred is being positioned as a vehicle to attract families, and with prime time viewing on terres- trial TV secured, there’s no doubt that it offers cricket an opportunity to broaden its appeal. It is hoped that our most loyal supporters will treat it as an opportunity to intro- duce others to an accessible form of the game with the aim of developing the next generation of members. Finally, as we reflect on 2019 and hope for a return to the first divi- sion of the County Championship, everyone here is appreciative of your continued support. Rest assured that we are pulling together as a club, both on and off the field, to do everything we can to make 2020 a successful year.