Surrey County Cricket Club has announced today (Thursday) that it has received full planning permission for the redevelopment of the Lock Laker Stand at Kia Oval, expanding the ground’s capacity to nearly 28,000.
As part of the development, a new three-tier stand will be built in between the Micky Stewart Members’ Pavilion and the Peter May Stand. New facilities will be fitted to enhance the match-day experience, as well as conferences, events and hospitality included in new buildings that will link to the stand, which will be known as One Oval Square.
The Kia Oval is due to host the final Ashes Test next year, and construction work will begin after that in October 2019. The venue is also scheduled to host the opening match and four further fixtures at the 2019 Cricket World Cup, while it will continue to serve as Surrey’s home ground as the team seeks to defend its County Championship and Kia Super League titles.
The development project will be phased over a year and a half and is due to be finished in time for the 2021 season. Kensington architects Rolfe Judd has designed the scheme. The firm also designed the new Peter May Stand, which opened in 2015.
The development will give the impression of two tiers ‘floating’ above the Peter May Stand. These tiers will also connect through to the Micky Stewart Members’ Pavilion, which will have a new room added to make it symmetrical when viewed from the pitch and the Vauxhall End. Two further roof terraces will also form part of the plans.
Surrey CCC chief executive Richard Gould said: “Receiving planning permission for this new development is fantastic news for the club as we continue to improve all aspects of the Kia Oval. It will add a significant number of extra seats, alongside new facilities to further improve people’s experience when they watch cricket here.
“As evidenced by the thousands of new Members joining our club – and the record-breaking number of Ashes tickets sold to Members in the last ten days, the demand to watch world class cricket at the Kia Oval has never been stronger.
“This development allows us to increase the capacity of the ground to nearly 28,000 – and the One Oval Square development will hugely improve the facilities available for holding conferences and events at the ground, a side of our business that has multiplied many times over in recent years and now has the opportunity to move to the next level.”
Images: Surrey CCC
