MCC reveals economic impact of Lord's

Test matches hosted at Lord's boost the local economy by almost £30m a year, a report commissioned by MCC has revealed.

The 50-page account, by London Economics, provides details on the impact Lord's has had on the local and city-wide economies. The report, based on England's Test against West Indies earlier this summer, reveals that a single (five-day) match's impact on the economy was between £9.5m and £10.8m, "supporting the equivalent of 133 to 155 full-time, year-round jobs".

London Economics' consultancy team, led by Dr Gavan Conlon, estimated that an increase of 5000 in the ground's capacity would boost the matches' annual local economic impact by between £3m and £3.8m; a rise of 10,000 would increase it by £6.01m to £7.72m each year.

However, if Lord's lost any of its current major match days, the adverse economic impact on the local area would be between £1.9m and £2.16m per day.

"As well as being the first major economic study of a Test in England for ten years, it's based on the biggest-ever survey of spectators' spending at a major match," Keith Bradshaw, MCC's chief executive said. "It will prove invaluable over the months ahead as we consult our Members on the development of a master plan for the future of Lord's - when capacity issues will be high on everyone's agenda."

The final match of the summer takes place at Lord's on Saturday when England face India in the last game of the one-day series which is currently level at 3-3.