£60m hotel at Old Trafford set to be big hit

LCCC Chairman David Hodgkiss, right, and chief executive Daniel Gidney, left, are joined by Nick Smart, vice president, development, North and West Europe, Hilton, right centre, and Tal Shefer, head of focused service brands, EMEA, Hilton, left centre, from Hilton

The £60m Hilton Garden Inn Hotel at the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club has been officially launched ahead of today’s one-day international match between England and the West Indies.

The 150-bedroom facility will create more than 70 new permanent jobs and according to LCC will position Emirates Old Trafford as one of the UK’s top venues for sport, music and events.

The new hotel will offer ticket and room inclusive experiences for cricket and music, provide the opportunity for multi-day residential conferences and events for groups of up to 2,000.

Some 85 of the 150 bedrooms overlook the cricket pitch, with some rooms also being converted to hospitality boxes.

The launch completes the next phase of LCCC’s long-term strategic plan to develop the venue and create a sustainable business with diverse market offering.

The new comprehensive hotel-inclusive offer is projected to play a key part in the future growth of the venue’s events and conference business, which had a record year of revenue in 2016 of £3.7m, and saw the likes of AA, eBay, Morrison’s, The X-Factor auditions, TheStadiumBusiness Design and Development Summit and Channel 5’s ‘The Wright Stuff’ all host events.

2017 has already seen the venue successfully host the fourth Investec Test Match between England and South Africa, a record 19,600 crowd for the NatWest T20 Blast fixture against Yorkshire and the likes of The Courteeners, Radiohead and the One Love Manchester concert entertain sell-out 50,000 crowds.

LCCC chairman David Hodgkiss said: “We are greatly honoured and extremely delighted to formally open the Hilton Garden Inn hotel here at Emirates Old Trafford.

“Firstly, we would like to thank everyone who played a role in securing its funding and who was involved in the execution of its build.

“The new hotel will positively impact long term on all areas of the Club, from matchday experiences through to massively enhancing our varied and growing conference and events business.”

The £15m hotel project was funded through a £3.4m cricket bond, £4m loan from Trafford Council and £5m funding from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).

Hodgkiss added: “The hotel provides Lancashire County Cricket Club with a hugely comprehensive and competitive opportunity in the events and conference market in the North West and across the UK.

“It is literally the missing piece of our jigsaw; we have a fantastic food and service offering, aligned to an unrivalled event space, and coupled with an accessible and convenient location. Multi-day events can now be offered with fine accommodation on site, which means that every detail can be covered.

“We are looking forward to welcoming members, supporters, partners and customers across the conference and event side of the Club, covering all areas of the cricket, business and local community.”

LCCC Chairman David Hodgkiss, right, and chief executive Daniel Gidney, left, are joined by Nick Smart, vice president, development, North and West Europe, Hilton, right centre, and Tal Shefer, head of focused service brands, EMEA, Hilton – left centre, from Hilton.

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