Yorkshire County Cricket Club has expressed “deep concerns” after it emerged that its Headingley Stadium in Leeds could miss out on hosting international Test cricket matches following a delay in a planned renovation of the venue.
The Leeds Rhinos rugby league club was planning to sell land to housing developers to fund the project, but the proposed deal has encountered “complex planning matters”, with a group of locals protesting against the plans. The rugby ground, which is also known as Headingley, sits right next to the cricket stadium.
The £38m (€43m/$47m) redevelopment plans include a new South Stand at the rugby ground and a new joint stand overlooking both the rugby and cricket pitches, bringing an extra £5m into the local economy every year. The existing South Stand was scheduled to be demolished in January.
The cricket club said that the delay could mean that the ground is not able to host international cricket until 2024. The original timeframe planned for the ground to be ready to host Cricket World Cup matches in 2019.
Leeds Rhinos said it was “desperately disappointed” by the latest delay, but was hopeful the project would start in the “near future”. However, the club also wanred that the stadium could lose out on hosting 2021 Rugby League World Cup matches.
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