Cricket at Edgbaston drives £23m into the local economy

Edgbaston’s summer of cricket is forecast to deliver £23m to the local Birmingham economy according to the West Midlands Growth Company Regional Observatory.

England’s Vitality International T20 match against Australia starts the summer programme this month, followed by the Specsavers Test series against India in August and the Vitality Blast Finals day in September.

Nicola Hewitt, commercial director at the West Midlands Growth Company, said: “Top domestic and international cricket at Edgbaston Stadium is a quintessential part of a Birmingham summer and provides an important boost to the city’s visitor economy. It is a key reason why the city’s tourism sector secured its most successful year in history in 2017, with visitor numbers, spend and hotel revenue at a record high.”

Neil Snowball, chief executive of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, added: “Major match programmes don’t get much better than England against Australia and India in the same summer and we are all looking forward to getting underway with the Vitality T20 next Wednesday.”

Next year Edgbaston will host one of its biggest ever run of important fixtures, including a semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup and another Test match in the Specsavers Ashes Series against Australia.

Hewitt concluded: “Birmingham has proved itself as the home of major international sporting fixtures in the UK, highlighted in recent years by the quality and variety of world-class events held in the city. These include the ICC Champions Trophy, Diamond League Athletics, the Rugby World Cup, with the 2022 Commonwealth Games also on the horizon.”

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