Birmingham’s Edgbaston Stadium is set to install a temporary stand to increase its capacity by more than 800 for June’s International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy.
Warwickshire County Cricket Club confirmed the expansion of the 23,500-capacity ground to allow more fans to see some of the world’s top cricketers in action this summer.
Edgbaston will host five of the biggest matches in this year’s competition, including Australia v New Zealand, India v Pakistan, Pakistan v South Africa, England v Australia and a semi-final.
More than 21,000 tickets combined for these games at Edgbaston will be released on general sale today (Wednesday), following confirmation of the temporary stand and returns from tournament partners, such as sponsors, ICC family and travel providers.
The Midlands cricket ground will host the 2017 event alongside The Oval in London and the Sophia Gardens stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
Edgbaston is the second largest cricket venue in the United Kingdom, after Lord’s, and has been one of the three chosen ICC Champions Trophy host venues on the previous occasions that the tournament has been staged in England and Wales, in 2004 and 2013.
As well as serving as Warwickshire’s home ground, the venue is used for Test matches, one-day internationals and Twenty20 internationals.
Gareth Roberts, commercial director at Edgbaston, said: “We successfully boosted the capacity of Edgbaston by more than 800 seats by using a temporary stand at the Investec Ashes Test match (pictured) and NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day in 2015. With such high demand for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, we were keen to secure its return and give even more people the chance to see one of the greatest international cricket tournaments in Birmingham.
“Major redevelopment projects at Edgbaston and in the city centre have helped the stadium and Birmingham be great hosts for cricket’s marquee fixtures. We’re very excited to host the ICC Champions Trophy again in 2017 and look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to this great city in June.”
ICC Champions Trophy tournament director, Steve Elworthy, added: “Edgbaston is a fantastic ground to watch cricket and we are delighted to welcome the additional attendance the temporary stand offers.
“The love of cricket in the Midlands always leads to a high demand for tickets and it’s a real boost to open the doors to over 21,000 more fans to enjoy the unique atmosphere of a ICC global event.”
