MCC unveils spectacular designs for new Compton and Edrich Stands at Lord’s

Lord’s London Wednesday 6th June 2018

MCC unveils spectacular designs for new Compton and Edrich Stands at Lord’s


*  MCC reveals designs by award-winning architects Wilkinson Eyre
*  New stands will enhance and complement existing Lord’s
* Capacity of ground will increase to 31,000; public amenities to be significantly improved
*  Planning application to be submitted in the autumn     
 
 
 

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has today unveiled the spectacular designs which will form the next phase of the Masterplan to redevelop Lord’s – new Compton and Edrich stands. 

The new three-tier stands will accommodate around 11,500 members of the public at the Nursery End of the Ground, and are due to be redeveloped between 2019 and 2021. Capacity will be increased by 2,500 seats, and a walkway linking both stands and overlooking the Nursery Ground will be introduced. From the Pavilion, MCC Members will still be able to view trees through gaps in and over the top of parts of the new stands. 

Spectator amenities will be significantly upgraded with catering and WC facilities, wheelchair-accessible spaces and lift access at all levels. The new additions to the Ground will have debenture seating and restaurants in the middle tier and, exceeding industry best-practice, 3% of all seating will be for wheelchair users or those with restricted mobility. Unlike the current structures, the top tier of the new stands will be partially covered.

The proposals form the next part of the phased Masterplan for Lord’s. Last year, The Duke of Edinburgh officially opened the new £25 million Warner Stand, the first stand to be rebuilt at Lord’s since the Grand Stand was completed in 1997.

The designs are the work of two-time Stirling Prize winners WilkinsonEyre, the architects responsible for the refurbishment of the Grade II*-listed Battersea Power Statio

A planning application will be submitted later this year to Westminster City Council after consultation with local residents. If consent is granted, MCC Members will be asked to approve the plans at the Club’s AGM in May 2019, and work to demolish the existing stands will begin after next year’s Test Match against Australia. The Ashes Test is just one part of a high profile summer of international cricket at Lord’s in 2019 which will also see the Ground host the ICC Cricket World Cup Final. 

MCC aims to have seating in the new stands in place for use during the 2020 season, with fully fitted-out facilities to be opened the following summer. The stands are anticipated to cost in the region of £50m.

MCC Chief Executive & Secretary Guy Lavender said: “MCC is committed to ensuring Lord’s remains the best place in the world at which to watch and play cricket. These new stands will transform the Nursery End, providing world-class facilities, opening up views both to the Pavilion and back towards the Nursery Ground, and adding another architectural enhancement to Lord’s.

“We are very aware of the responsibility we have to protect everything that makes Lord’s so special, and we are delighted with the positive feedback we’ve already received from our membership. As well as providing a significant improvement to capacity and facilities, the plans for the new Compton and Edrich stands complement beautifully the J.P. Morgan Media Centre, which was designed by Future Systems and is itself an award-winning building, well known to anyone who has watched cricket at Lord’s.”

Jim Eyre, founding director of WilkinsonEyre, said “We are delighted to be working on this critically important project at Lord’s which will transform the setting of the Nursery End and provide some great views of the cricket.”

In September 2017, MCC Members voted overwhelmingly in support of MCC’s Updated Masterplan, which maps out a world-class redevelopment of Lord’s funded from the Club’s own resources.

About Marylebone Cricket Club

MCC is the world’s most active cricket club, the owner of Lord’s Ground and the guardian of the Laws and Spirit of the game. Founded in 1787, it is recognised as the sole authority on the game’s Laws and moved to its current home on St John’s Wood Road in 1814. There are approximately 18,000 Full and 5,000 Associate Members of MCC.

About Lord’s

The current Lord’s Ground is its third incarnation. The first-ever match played at ‘Lord’s Cricket Ground’ came in 1787 when businessman Thomas Lord staged a game between Middlesex and Essex at a newly-built ground in what was then known as Dorset Fields. By 1811, MCC had moved to a new Ground in St John’s Wood. This ground proved unpopular however and, when plans emerged for the Regent’s Canal to be built straight through it, Thomas Lord gratefully accepted compensation and moved the Ground to its current location in 1814.

About MCC’s Updated Masterplan

The redevelopment of the Compton and Edrich Stands is the second phase of the MCC Updated Masterplan.  Once the stands are completed in 2021, work will commence on redeveloping the East Gate Building (enabling works and build: 2021-25) before the Nursery Ground is redesigned (2025-27).  The South Western Project, involving the rebuilding of the Tavern and Allen Stands, as well as renovation of the Thomas Lord Suite, is scheduled to take place from 2027-2030 before the Masterplan is completed with the redevelopment of the North Gate Building from 2031-32.

About WilkinsonEyre

WilkinsonEyre, twice winners of both the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize and the RIBA Lubetkin Prize, is one of the world’s leading architecture practices. Its portfolio of bold, beautiful, intelligent architecture includes the Guangzhou International Finance Center, one of the tallest buildings in the world; the giant cooled conservatories for Gardens by the Bay in Singapore; the acclaimed temporary structure of the London 2012 Basketball Arena; and the Olympic Training Centre, Cariocas Arenas, for Rio 2016.

 

June 9, 2018 12:00 am

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