The Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester is one of the most iconic cricket grounds in England. Founded in 1857, it is the home of the Manchester Cricket Club and Lancashire County Club. From 2013 onwards, the name of the stadium changed to Emirates Old Trafford due to sponsorship reasons.
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It is situated near Old Trafford Football Stadium, which is the ground of Manchester United Football Club. Apart from cricketing events, this venue is used for other gatherings such as music concerts, conferences, weddings, etc, as well. The fans visiting the stadium can have a brilliant tour of the stadium which covers all the aspects of the arena.
Old Trafford Cricket Ground Temporary Stand Significance
The stadium has a capacity of 19,000 fans for domestic matches and 26,000 for international matches. For bigger occasions, the mentioned capacities are certainly not up to the mark. To overcome the situation, a temporary stand was created during ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in order to cater to big events.
One of the most watched cricketing matches ever, India-Pakistan 2019 World Cup match was played here. This temporary stand has 71 rows and it was completely filled during that match. The best part about the stand is that it can be attached and removed without any major impact on the ground.
The same stand is being used in the ongoing Ashes 2023 Test as well. With a crowd capacity of 8,500, the stand is sold out for all the five days of the fourth match.
Cost Of Tickets At Old Trafford Temporary Stand
The ticket prices of the India vs Pakistan match in 2019 ranged between £25 to £235. A total of 7,00,000 ticket requests and 600 media requests had come for the same. Reportedly, over a billion people watched the game on the television. The extra stand did help a little to accommodate more fans and create an appropriately electrifying atmosphere inside the stadium.
The tickets for the match were even sold in black at a price of £500 to £1000. It is certain that there are management costs of the temporary stand and that’s why it is only used for matches with high ticket demand.
Old Trafford Cricket Ground Temporary Stand Expansion Plans
In 2019, Lancashire Country had revealed plans for the expansion of the stadium. The current capacity of 19,000 fans in domestic games was set to get increased to 26,700 with the help of a two-tier 4,850-seater stand. David Hidgkiss, the chairman of Lancashire, had said in a statement that they want to make Old Trafford one of the best stadiums in the world.
“Lancashire Cricket Club is committed to ensuring Emirates Old Trafford is one of the best places in the world to watch and play cricket, both at a domestic and international level, and the new stand, which includes a pitch-view suite, will further enhance the facilities for Lancashire Members.”
The expansion work took a halt due to COVID-19 and there remains no clarity over the resumption of the project. If it gets completed, Old Trafford will become one of the biggest cricketing grounds in England.
