How cricket club aims to bounce back from £1m lockdown losses
PLAN INCLUDES BID TO BOOST MERCHANDISE AND TICKET SALES BY 10%
MANAGEMENT at Leicestershire County Cricket Club have drawn up a list of 25 objectives to secure its future over the next year.
New chief executive Sean Jarvis believes that with the support of members, players, staff, fans and sponsors, the club will make it through what has been a devastating year. It faces losing about £1 million as a result of lockdown.
Mr Jarvis has said the “lean team” at Leicestershire, plus help from the furlough system, mean the club is hopeful of avoiding redundancies.
Now he has released a report showing how the club – which is stuck in a localised lockdown as the rest of UK cricket slowly starts up again – can get back to full strength. The aim is to hit all targets by September next year.
Measures suggested to help it through the next 12 to 18 months cover the playing side of things, the commercial side, community, finance and the club as a whole.
Developing an Academy of Cricket, generating more revenue, improving governance and infrastructure, a renewed focus on corporate social responsibility and better financial reporting all feature in the new strategy.
It also includes doing better in the County Championship, T20 and other competitions, as well as better outcomes for young and female players.
Other aims are increasing sponsorships, partnerships and advertising by at least 10 per cent, boosting
There is a lot of work to be done, but I am excited about the future of the running Foxes
ticket and merchandise sales by at least 10 per cent and increasing food, drink and conferencing sales by at least 10 per cent.
The club wants to make the Fischer County Ground the “premium Leicestershire outdoor venue” for concerts and first-class events, with the delivery of an ambitious events programme once the coronavirus is behind us. It also wants to improve the way it manages staff, create a diversity action plan, and host regular members’ forums.
Within the community, it wants to relaunch the Leicestershire and Rutland
Cricket Foundation and raise £20,000 by September next year to support at least 2,000 people.
Mr Jarvis hopes he has created a clear road map to strengthen the club which will galvanise support.
He said: “This plan sets out a clear vision of what we want to achieve and by when.
“We have such a fantastic opportunity to drive the club forward and create a culture of continuous improvement and development; this plan maps out how we are going to achieve this.
“The club is committed to being transparent and I want our members and stakeholders to hold us accountable as we will be actively reporting on our progress.
“There is a lot of work to be done, but our ecosystem gives clear direction and scope to transform ourselves within the coming years and I am really excited about the future of the running Foxes.
“Like everyone, the biggest challenge we face right now is the restrictions from Covid-19, but I am confident that with the continued support of our members and the business community that we do have a bright future.”
To read the strategy in full, visit the Leicestershire CCC website: