Warwickshire look to future after a drop in funds

Turnover was down £200,000 to £17.3m compared to the previous year, which the club put down to a reduced schedule of seven ‘major match days’ at Edgbaston in 2018.

They hosted 11 the year before – which included five in the ICC Champions Trophy – and are excited about the forthcoming fixtures over the next five years.

Chief operating officer Craig Flindall said: “Off the field, the club achieved its primary objective in the last financial year by securing a substantial 31-day allocation of major match cricket, between 2020 and 2024, in the England & Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) tender process.

“This includes an Ashes Test match, T20 Finals Day each year and Tests in four of the five summers, while Edgbaston will also host a team in the ECB’s new 100-ball domestic tournament.

“With major match cricket continuing to be the primary driver of revenue for the club, this strong allocation and new tournament opportunity underpins our long-term financial model.”

Flindall added: “Together with the reduced volume of international matches in 2018, our analysis showed that starting the Test Match on a Wednesday had a negative impact on our ticket sales, while catering and merchandise revenues were restricted by the early finish before lunch on day four.”

Pre-tax operating profit was also down £760,000 to £1.7million year-on-year – but with some big games to come this summer, Warwickshire hope this will rise again in 12 months.

Chief executive Neil Snowball said: “The 2019 summer is arguably the biggest in the history of English cricket, and Edgbaston will play a major part in this by hosting five marquee games in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, including the ICC World Cup semi-final on July 11, the opening Test of the Specsavers Ashes series and Vitality Blast Finals Day.

“Ticket demand for these games has been unprecedented, with the opening three days of the Ashes already sold out and the ballot allocations for the World Cup being exhausted. Finals Day sales tickets are also up by nearly 25 per cent compared with this time in 2018.

“With such a strong 2019 schedule and the identity of all teams in the new domestic tournament set to be revealed in the coming months, we have a fantastic opportunity to both deliver financially and leave a lasting legacy for the game in Birmingham, Warwickshire and the wider West Midlands.”