Lord’s, "the most famous cricket ground in the world," will be "significantly changed" by a £135M ($175M) investment if the latest development proposal is accepted by Marylebone Cricket Club members, according to Ivo Tennant of the LONDON TIMES. Rebuilt stands, a pavilion at the Nursery End and a glass façade in place of the wall along Wellington Road "will be financed by the building of two blocks of apartments on the site should the scheme go ahead." The Morley Plan, named after the architect, is one proposal. The alternative is the club's "Masterplan for Lord's, the latest phase of which is expected to be revealed" on Friday. The members, who own Lord's, will decide on which option to pursue at a special general meeting to be held "in the autumn." Lord's, which has a capacity of 30,000, is "in need of investment given that it could lose its second Test match each summer" because of England & Wales Cricket Board proposals to change the schedule from '20. Charles Rifkind, the investor who acquired the head lease on the disused railway tunnels at the Nursery End in '99, originally offered £100M to MCC in return for building apartments along the Wellington Road side of the land when the "Vision for Lord's" plan was proposed in '09. He "has now put to the club that this sum should be spent on rebuilding" the Tavern and Allen stands and Thomas Lord Banqueting Suite, the cost of which is estimated to be £98M ($127M). In addition, he is offering £35M ($45M) to excavate the tunnels and create parking spaces for 120 cars, plus storage for bicycles and TV equipment underground for "significant matches" (LONDON TIMES, 6/8).
MEMBER COMPENSATION: In London, Nick Hoult reported MCC members "will be paid two years of their annual membership if they agree to the building of residential flats" at the Nursery End when the club holds a final vote on the long-term redevelopment of the "Home of Cricket." The club believes it can fund the work "from its own resources and with a level of borrowing" without taking the money from the developers and building apartments on the Nursery End. The club drew up its own "Masterplan for Lord's" in '13, which includes the rebuilding of the same areas of the ground "but funded from the club's resources." This saga has "run for nearly a decade and last year the club commissioned independent reports on both projects," which will be sent to members this week, to "once and for all bring the matter to an end." There will be a "major consultation period that will end with a vote at a Special General Meeting in September." Both schemes will "lift the capacity of Lord’s to 32,000" but work will not be completed until '32 at the earliest. It is estimated the residential blocks will "take two years to build during which time there will be no other work undertaken on the ground" and the £35M payment to members is "compensation for the upheaval the building work will cause" (TELEGRAPH, 6/7).
