Team develops a winning mentality

Jun 24 2009 By Alastair Gilmour, The Journal

The future of first-class cricket in the North East is looking positive following the granting of planning permission for a multi-million pound development at the Riverside ground in Chester-le-Street. But, as Alastair Gilmour discovers, this is only the start.

DURHAM County Cricket Club's chief executive frequently asks himself: "Does sporting success matter?" It’s something of a rhetorical question, but he always answers: "Yes it does."

Achievement is far more than just trophies on sideboards, and David Harker is well aware of the inspiration and motivation that sporting success can have on education, health and community cohesion.

He is passionate about his sport and, if it is at all possible, even more dedicated to the success of the North East by developing one of the most efficient sports stadiums in the country.

Before 1991, Durham was a minor county club with a low but rising profile punctuated by brief moments of triumph in national competitions. Today, its first class status crowned by last year’s first-ever County Championship, the Riverside ground is working on a £45m initiative to expand seating capacity from 8,000 to 20,000 along with the construction of a new gateway building that will provide sweeping panoramic views over Chester-le-Street and Lumley Castle, with hospitality facilities to match. If that weren’t enough, an all new, 149-room Hilton Hotel will be a world-class base from which to enjoy world-class sporting action.

Bids have been lodged to secure regular international cricket matches over the next five years, with one of those opportunities being an Ashes Test. And with the speed that cricket is developing across the world, who knows what’s next. However, grand plans require serious investment and Harker and his team are looking to North East businesses to be part of its exciting future.

"At various points in our history we have been able to rely on the corporate sector in the region," he says. "It goes back to leading the charge on first-class status. We did a great job rounding up local business support which raised £1m, one of the criteria that had to be satisfied.

"We’re yet again at a key phase of our development and we’re set to move on from being a ground that has A-category status – a Test match ground. We recognise that it’s a difficult time to be asking any organisation to part with their cash and there has to be something special for them in return. Part of that is in helping the region because of the good things international cricket brings."

The Sport Industry Research Centre estimates that when a Test match is played at the Riverside at least £3.25m is spent in the North East as a direct result. The positive national and international media coverage the region gained from the England v West Indies Test Match at the Riverside in 2007 was the equivalent in advertising spend of £2m.

"Fixtures have always been dependent on an ad hoc allocation," says Harker. "From one year to the next we’ve never been entirely sure of the games we might have. But we’ve just applied for a series of games that will see us have a minimum of 11 days of international cricket between 2011 and 2016 – and we can bid for a few games on top of that. Part of that allocation is the England and Wales Cricket Board’s desire to continue the momentum of the development of the ground and that’s what we’re looking to the region’s businesses to get behind.

"Now is the right time to go out banging the drum, but people want to know what they’re getting for their money. We need to work that through as we begin to gauge the level of interest. We’re looking to innovate by creating an opportunity to take a longer-term interest in the business or to translate the original contribution into some sort of sponsorship once we are certain what our games allocation is.

"There are a number of packages we have bid for but we don’t know which one we’ll get. The one we’re going for has international cricket every year; at the other extreme is one with less international cricket in terms of games but will include an Ashes Test. That wouldn’t be a bad second prize.

"To make it worthwhile we can’t look at packages of less than £10,000. It’s not like buying a bag of peas; you’ve really got to understand what people are prepared to put in, how they want to help and what they want back from it. At this stage it’s about encouraging their interest."