Cricket trophy could see £25m boost for city
THE city’s tourism economy is set to be boosted by more than £25 million on the back of five cricket matches at Edgbaston Stadium next year.
The home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club will host the quintet of fixtures in the ICC Champions Trophy next June which, according to a new study by Marketing Birmingham Regional Observatory, will add £25.3 million to Birmingham’s economy.
Eight international cricket teams will contest the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 from June 1 to 18, with Edgbaston hosting four matches in the group stages and a semi-final.
Neil Snowball, chief executive of Warwickshire CCC, said: “Edgbaston played a leading role as one of the hosts of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013, which showcased the city to a combined TV audience of 2.58 billion people across 228 countries. We’re thrilled that Edgbaston will once again play host to some of cricket’s biggest names and most iconic rivalries for the 2017 tournament.
“England versus Australia and India versus Pakistan are two of the biggest contests in world sport but we expect all five games to be sell-outs and attract more than 120,000 spectators to Birmingham across the tournament.”
Emma Gray, director of marketing and communications at Visit Birmingham, the city’s leisure tourism programme, added: “Birmingham has a proven track record of successfully delivering major global championships and events.
“Sport has played a key role in Birmingham’s 17 per cent increase in tourists since 2010, with the city demonstrating over the past 12 months that it possesses the infrastructure and unrivalled connectivity to host fans at the prestigious Diamond League athletics, Davis Cup tennis and Rugby World Cup.
“There is always a special atmosphere, not only around Edgbaston Stadium but across Birmingham, when there is a test match or international cricket tournament in the city.
“We look forward to welcoming more fans than ever to next year’s ICC Champions Trophy and hope that they enjoy an exciting five days of cricket in Birmingham, plus our increasingly popular leisure offer, just as they did in 2013.”