Lancashire scores record profit after Test cricket returns

THE multi-million pound project to regenerate and expand its historic ground is starting to pay dividends for Lancashire County Cricket Club.

Annual results for 2013 reveal a return to profit – to a record £3.5m – after four years of losses.

The driver for the upturn in performance was a surge in revenues, which more than doubled  to just more than £19m thanks to the return of Test cricket to the ground.

Six successful days last summer saw nearly 150,000 spectators – a record number for the ground – attend the redeveloped Emirates Old Trafford for the Investec Ashes Test and a NatWest Series One Day International against the Australia.

Following the completion of the stadium redevelopment, the club made huge leaps in establishing commercial partnerships with major corporate brands, including a 10-year naming rights deal with Middle East airline Emirates and the sponsorship of the new players & media centre by Manchester-based pensions firm AJ Bell.

Deals were also extended with brewer Thwaites and law firm Hill Dickinson which helped grow annual sponsorship revenues to more than £1m.

Last year Lancs achieved an encouraging 36% increase in domestic cricket revenue and believes that this figure will increase significantly in 2014 with the promotion back to Division One of the LV= County Championship and the introduction of the new NatWest T20 Blast competition supported by a guaranteed five Friday evening matches.

Emirates Old Trafford will host international matches against India and Sri Lanka this summer.