Aug. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Lord's is prepared to become more than just the ``Home of Cricket'' by opening the 193-year-old London stadium to public skaters, tennis players and Shakespearean actors, its owner said.
``We need to be more inclusive,'' Keith Bradshaw, chief executive officer of the Marylebone Cricket Club, or MCC, which owns Lord's, said in an interview. ``I aspire for us to be like a Nike brand.''
International match day at Lord's in north London has been central to the U.K. sports calendar for more than a century, luring some of the top names in finance and entertainment. MCC members, who wear ``egg and bacon'' yellow-and-red striped ties and blazers, include former Vodafone Group Plc CEO Christopher Gent, ex-Prime Minister John Major and rock star Mick Jagger.
Bradshaw wants to open a store selling Lord's apparel such as straw panama hats on London's Oxford Street and to build a temporary ice rink for the public this winter. The MCC needs to increase sales outside cricket because the 28,000-seat Lord's stadium may lose one of the two elite five-day matches it stages every year. The venue makes about a third of its annual sales of 25 million pounds ($51.1 million) from such so-called Tests.
A private box at Lord's, which can accommodate 18 people and includes a buffet-style lunch, cost as much as 7,500 pounds for last week's Test against India. The cheapest ticket is 40 pounds.
New Locations
The England & Wales Cricket Board has earmarked Cardiff and Durham as new venues in a bid to spread matches around the country. The board's agreement with Lord's expires in 2009.
``I'd be a fool not to think there's a danger'' of losing a Test match, Bradshaw said. ``We're trying to remind people that this is where Test cricket should be played.''
Bradshaw, a 43-year-old Australian, is the first non-English chief executive of an organization that began as a gentlemen's social and gambling club in 1787 and is now synonymous with English cricket. Until 10 years ago, national team players wore the MCC colors on the field during overseas tours and before 1998 the only woman allowed in the pavilion during play was Queen Elizabeth II.
As part of his vision to make Lord's a brand as recognizable as Nike Inc., the biggest maker of athletic shoes, Bradshaw set up a ``Master Plan Working Party'' to look into proposed redevelopments.
``I have a very heavy responsibility in terms of shaping the future both in a traditional sense and a commercial sense,'' said Bradshaw. ``The members will embrace change as long as they have input into that change.''
Archery, Shakespeare
Among the ideas are adding 10,000 seats to the arena, building hotels and apartments, and creating a cricket academy. This summer, matches will be interspersed with international archery tournaments and a production of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. The venue's first cricket contest under floodlights is scheduled for September.
``We have to move with the times,'' David Weston, an MCC member for 20 years, said between sips of pink champagne at the India match. ``I'm not sure about baseball but I think an ice rink and archery would be absolutely splendid.''
Meetings will be held in October to gauge the views of the 18,000 members, who only voted to allow women to join their ranks in 1998. There are limits to what they'll bear, Bradshaw said.
``We're not going to stage an AC/DC rock concert,'' he said. ``But perhaps we could have opera.''
Bradshaw is talking with the Lawn Tennis Association about building a temporary court on the field. Companies may also be invited to stage corporate matches on the Lord's square.
Spiderman, Razorlight
Bradshaw showed his intention to get the message out during England's two Test matches at the ground this summer. He hired an aircraft to fly over London with a banner declaring ``Lord's: Home of Cricket'' and children at the event were offered erasable tattoos bearing the motto.
He also invited `Spiderman' movie actress Kirsten Dunst and her boyfriend Johnny Borrell of pop group Razorlight to join MCC members in their box during May's match against the West Indies.
Dunst and Borrell weren't allowed in the 127-year-old terracotta Pavilion, which is strictly for players and members. Anyone seeking to become a member faces an 18-year wait and must be proposed, seconded and sponsored by insiders.
Haydn Turner, who coaches children's teams at Lord's, backed Bradshaw's plans, so long as they don't turn the ground into ``another Blackpool,'' a reference to the U.K. seaside town known for amusement arcades, roller coasters and low-grade hotels.
``I don't want swings and roundabouts but a tennis court and an ice rink would be a lot of fun,'' he said. ``Cricket on ice? Why not?''
``We need to be more inclusive,'' Keith Bradshaw, chief executive officer of the Marylebone Cricket Club, or MCC, which owns Lord's, said in an interview. ``I aspire for us to be like a Nike brand.''
International match day at Lord's in north London has been central to the U.K. sports calendar for more than a century, luring some of the top names in finance and entertainment. MCC members, who wear ``egg and bacon'' yellow-and-red striped ties and blazers, include former Vodafone Group Plc CEO Christopher Gent, ex-Prime Minister John Major and rock star Mick Jagger.
Bradshaw wants to open a store selling Lord's apparel such as straw panama hats on London's Oxford Street and to build a temporary ice rink for the public this winter. The MCC needs to increase sales outside cricket because the 28,000-seat Lord's stadium may lose one of the two elite five-day matches it stages every year. The venue makes about a third of its annual sales of 25 million pounds ($51.1 million) from such so-called Tests.
A private box at Lord's, which can accommodate 18 people and includes a buffet-style lunch, cost as much as 7,500 pounds for last week's Test against India. The cheapest ticket is 40 pounds.
New Locations
The England & Wales Cricket Board has earmarked Cardiff and Durham as new venues in a bid to spread matches around the country. The board's agreement with Lord's expires in 2009.
``I'd be a fool not to think there's a danger'' of losing a Test match, Bradshaw said. ``We're trying to remind people that this is where Test cricket should be played.''
Bradshaw, a 43-year-old Australian, is the first non-English chief executive of an organization that began as a gentlemen's social and gambling club in 1787 and is now synonymous with English cricket. Until 10 years ago, national team players wore the MCC colors on the field during overseas tours and before 1998 the only woman allowed in the pavilion during play was Queen Elizabeth II.
As part of his vision to make Lord's a brand as recognizable as Nike Inc., the biggest maker of athletic shoes, Bradshaw set up a ``Master Plan Working Party'' to look into proposed redevelopments.
``I have a very heavy responsibility in terms of shaping the future both in a traditional sense and a commercial sense,'' said Bradshaw. ``The members will embrace change as long as they have input into that change.''
Archery, Shakespeare
Among the ideas are adding 10,000 seats to the arena, building hotels and apartments, and creating a cricket academy. This summer, matches will be interspersed with international archery tournaments and a production of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. The venue's first cricket contest under floodlights is scheduled for September.
``We have to move with the times,'' David Weston, an MCC member for 20 years, said between sips of pink champagne at the India match. ``I'm not sure about baseball but I think an ice rink and archery would be absolutely splendid.''
Meetings will be held in October to gauge the views of the 18,000 members, who only voted to allow women to join their ranks in 1998. There are limits to what they'll bear, Bradshaw said.
``We're not going to stage an AC/DC rock concert,'' he said. ``But perhaps we could have opera.''
Bradshaw is talking with the Lawn Tennis Association about building a temporary court on the field. Companies may also be invited to stage corporate matches on the Lord's square.
Spiderman, Razorlight
Bradshaw showed his intention to get the message out during England's two Test matches at the ground this summer. He hired an aircraft to fly over London with a banner declaring ``Lord's: Home of Cricket'' and children at the event were offered erasable tattoos bearing the motto.
He also invited `Spiderman' movie actress Kirsten Dunst and her boyfriend Johnny Borrell of pop group Razorlight to join MCC members in their box during May's match against the West Indies.
Dunst and Borrell weren't allowed in the 127-year-old terracotta Pavilion, which is strictly for players and members. Anyone seeking to become a member faces an 18-year wait and must be proposed, seconded and sponsored by insiders.
Haydn Turner, who coaches children's teams at Lord's, backed Bradshaw's plans, so long as they don't turn the ground into ``another Blackpool,'' a reference to the U.K. seaside town known for amusement arcades, roller coasters and low-grade hotels.
``I don't want swings and roundabouts but a tennis court and an ice rink would be a lot of fun,'' he said. ``Cricket on ice? Why not?''
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