Counties will be given up to £1.8M ($2.4M) each per year "if they agree to the most radical change to the domestic game in its history by voting for a new city based Twenty20 tournament," according to Nick Hoult of the London TELEGRAPH. The tournament is to be launched in '18 and "will involve eight teams based at Test match grounds played over a four-week period." Officials from the England & Wales Cricket Board have "spent the past month sharing details of the potential financial gains from the new tournament in a series of meetings with county chief executives and chairmen." The ECB has "insisted all parties sign non-disclosure agreements" but the counties will reportedly each receive £1.5M ($2M) per year from the new tournament plus a £300,000 ($399,000) "staging fee to each club owning a Test match ground that hosts one of the new teams." TV rights for the new tournament have been valued at around £35M ($47M) annually with another £10M-£12M ($13M-$16M) per year "from marketing and sponsorship." The league will be played alongside the current Natwest Blast Twenty20 tournament, "allowing the counties to keep their popular Friday night matches and it is understood the ECB is close to gaining the two-thirds majority vote it will need for the project to be ratified" (TELEGRAPH, 9/7).
