Glamorgan to build Museum of Welsh Cricket

Glamorgan Cricket will receive £516,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help create the Museum of Welsh Cricket at Sophia Gardens. It will be the first sports-specific museum at a sporting venue in Wales and should open next summer.

The museum forms part of a major redevelopment of Glamorgan Cricket's headquarters in Cardiff. A statement from Glamorgan said "the state-of-the-art visitor attraction will be a high-tech gadget-rich museum, full of digital and electronic resources designed to celebrate the history of cricket throughout Wales and to inspire the next generation of Welsh cricketers."

The award will also support CricEd Cymru, a cricket-based learning programme for both primary and secondary schools, which has already been piloted, and an outreach 'Beyond Boundaries' scheme, which aims to maximise community participation through talks, seminars, and a travelling exhibition.

R. Paul Russell, the Glamorgan chairman, said: "Glamorgan Cricket is delighted to receive this substantial grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, especially as the creation of the Museum of Welsh Cricket has been one of the key features of the new pavilion complex here at the club's redeveloped headquarters in Cardiff.

"Cricket has played a unique part in the sporting heritage of Wales, and the creation of the Museum will add the range of visitor attractions at the new Test Match stadium which Glamorgan Cricket has developed in the heart of the Welsh capital city. The Museum will provide visitors to the city with an opportunity for the first timeto study the fascinating history of cricket and the part it has played in making Wales one of the world's great sporting nations.

"In Dr. Andrew Hignell, the club is fortunate to have the leading expert on the history of cricket in Wales. Dr. Hignell has been driving force behind both the Museum of Welsh Cricket, and the Glamorgan Cricket Heritage Gallery, and we are building on his vast experience in the world of teaching by combining a wide variety of learning-activities and community projects with the museum."