Glamorgan Launch Ground Development Appeal

Glamorgan Cricket today announced the launch of a Ground Development Appeal with the aim of attracting an England international match to Wales for the very first time.

With no player beneficiary in 2004, the Club is taking the opportunity to appeal to its members, supporters, sponsors and the Welsh community at large to support its ambitious plans to bring Sophia Gardens up to Test match standard.

Although Cardiff has staged several high profile international matches in recent years, the ground has not yet hosted a full England international. In order to meet the criteria imposed on venues seeking to stage such matches, including ground capacity, media facilities, traffic management, cricketing facilities and basic spectator infrastructure, the Club will be required to make a significant investment in order to satisfy such criteria.

The Club is putting in place a series of plans to develop the Sophia Gardens stadium to the next stage. Such plans include an increase in spectator accommodation, new pavilion, new grandstand and new playing and media facilities. The aim is to persuade the cricketing authorities to allocate an England One-day International game to Wales by 2007 with test cricket to follow.

There will be a series of events throughout the course of 2004 - and beyond - designed to raise funds, starting with a special Hall of Fame Dinner in the Spring. Many of these events will, like those organized on behalf of player beneficiaries, consist of dinners, lunches, race nights, golf days, cricket matches and similar activities. There will also be some higher profile events, in Wales, London and beyond. A full programme will be announced shortly.

The Hall of Fame concept is a vehicle for paying tribute to some of the leading cricketers in Welsh cricketing history. At the inaugural dinner the first group of prominent Glamorgan legends will be officially inducted into the new Welsh Cricket Hall of Fame. There will be great interest amongst the sporting community of Wales as to who will be in this select band and there is expected to be a significant demand for places at the Dinner.

The public will have the opportunity to influence the initial selection with a long list of candidates being published in the media in the New Year. There will also be a website poll with the list being whittled down to an initial eleven who will enter the first Hall of Fame. These polls will dovetail with the deliberations of an expert panel, details of which will be announced during the Autumn.

The fundraising is not, however, designed for 2004 alone. The nature of the appeal is such that various functions and events will continue to take place beyond 2004. Cricket supporters in Wales will have the chance to make their own contributions to the Club's development plans by running their own events or by making a straight donation to the Glamorgan Cricket Appeal. A special appeal year brochure will be published in the New Year.

Paul Russell, Glamorgan Cricket Chairman, said: "Everyone connected with the Club is extremely excited at the prospect of developing the ground at Sophia Gardens into an arena worthy and capable of staging England test cricket. We believe there is a very strong case indeed for cricket supporters, in Wales, and in the bordering counties of England, to have the opportunity of watching major international cricket - initially a One-day International and, eventually a Test match, hence the significant amount of work we plan for the ground.

It is also important that we recognize our commitment to the current Glamorgan side and the future of cricket in Wales at all levels. Ground development and international cricket are key strategic objectives for the Club, but so too is the importance of financial stability and growth together with the need to be as competitive as possible on the field of play. We will be very keen to ensure that nothing is done to compromise our team's performance in the short to medium term. We hope that the launch of this appeal will inspire supporters and organizations, who share our vision and aspiration and help us to achieve our ground development aims."

Chairman of the Appeal, Gareth Williams added: "This is an exciting challenge, one that we hope cricket followers, Glamorgan supporters Welsh business and government at all levels will get right behind. Staging major England international cricket is far harder to deliver than it is to aim for and it is clear that we shall have to work extremely hard if we are to achieve that aim. But we believe that the Welsh public deserves international cricket and will rise to this challenge."

The Glamorgan players are fully supportive of the Appeal and will play an active part in the fundraising. Simon Jones, the Glamorgan and England pace bowler, said: "I think this is a really exciting project and all of the players are right behind it. We look forward to seeing the plans come to fruition and, speaking personally, I can't think of anything better than opening the bowling for England in a Test match in Wales."

A full media launch will take place in the Autumn, at which the scale and detail of the Club's development plans will be revealed, along with a more detailed programme of events for the Appeal. Details will also be made available of how people can become involved in this exciting project to enhance Wales's reputation as a great location for major international sporting events.

Paul Russell Gareth Williams Mike Fatkin Chairman Appeal Chairman Chief Executive Glamorgan Cricket Glamorgan Cricket Glamorgan Cricket

Sophia Gardens Cardiff CF11 9XR Tel: (029) 2040 9380 Email: glam@ecb.co.uk