Eastleigh's £30m rescue for Hampshire Cricket's Rose Bowl plans

12:58pm Friday 17th July 2009

By Simon Carr

AMBITIOUS plans for a top Hampshire sporting venue have been rescued thanks to a £30m lifeline.

The cash will fund a state-of-the-art hotel and conference centre and make Eastleigh Borough Council the biggest backer of the Rose Bowl project so far.

The new developments were under threat when other sources of funding dried up and venue management feared there was no way of raising enough money within the time needed.

However, with the council stumping up almost two-thirds of the £48m needed, plans are back on schedule to transform the venue into a world class facility.

With the huge cash injection, announced at an Eastleigh Council meeting last night, work is on track to be completed in time for the ground’s historic first cricket Test match when England clash with Sri Lanka in 2011.

Council leader Keith House said: “The Rose Bowl is a tremendous asset to the county and the council wanted to do all it could to make sure these exciting plans become a reality.

“Our reasons for investing are threefold: it will be a great focus for world class sporting events, create 200 jobs and bring £20m of spending into the local economy, plus Test match cricket – it is win, win, win, win.

“When the Rose Bowl approached us for investment we knew we wanted to help as it is a robust and successful project as well as being something special for the area.

“We have invested in this for the good of the community, not to make money, but the council will not end up out of pocket.”

The council will borrow the cash it is putting up as opposed to hitting the taxpayer with a huge bill.

The authority will own the hotel and conference centre but said there is a possibility of the Rose Bowl management buying it back in the future.

In addition to the 175-bedroom hotel there will be new seating for an extra 5,000 spectators, bringing the maximum capacity to 15,000, or 25,000 with temporary seating.

There will be a new entrance to improve access and the nine-hole golf facility will be extended to a full championship 18-hole course.

Rose Bowl chairman Rod Bransgrove said: “The vision of Eastleigh Borough Council to fund this new hotel is a real breakthrough for the Rose Bowl as it helps us focus the rest of our fundraising initiatives on the remaining elements of our development plan.

“We take our responsibility as a resident of Eastleigh very seriously and this funding will help ensure that we will be able to generate significantly more inward investment to the borough in the years and decades to come.”

Planning permission for the extensive redevelopment was granted in 2008 and has already started with new turnstiles being installed. It is due to be completed by September 2010.

Hampshire Cricket moved to the purposebuilt £25m ground in 2001 after vacating its old home at Northlands Road, Southampton.

Since it opened the venue has become a hive of sport and entertainment activity and attracted huge music acts from Oasis to The Who.