BIRMINGHAM – Edgbaston Stadium’s role in hosting five of the biggest fixtures in cricket’s ICC Champions Trophy 2017 is set to deliver a £25.3 million boost to the Birmingham economy according to a new study by Marketing Birmingham Regional Observatory, British media reported on Wednesday.
The top eight ranked international cricket teams (as on 30 September 2015) will contest the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 from 1-18 June, with Edgbaston hosting four matches in the group stages matches – England v Australia, India v Pakistan, Australia v New Zealand and Pakistan v South Africa – as well as the 15 June second semi-final. The Oval (London) and the Cardiff Wales Stadium will also host six and four games, respectively.
Neil Snowball, Chief Executive of Edgbaston Stadium, said: “Edgbaston played a leading role as one of the hosts of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013, which showcased the city to a combined TV audience of 2,058 million people across 228 countries.
“We’re thrilled that Edgbaston will once again play host to some of cricket’s biggest names and most iconic rivalries for the 2017 tournament. England versus Australia and India versus Pakistan are two of the biggest contests in world sport, but we expect all five games to be sell-outs and attract more than 120,000 spectators to Birmingham across the tournament.
“All tickets for the tournament are available through the official ICC Champions Trophy ticket ballot, which closes at 8pm this coming Friday (30 September). With such a high demand for these fixtures, we recommend that fans apply now and only purchase tickets from the official ticketing site to avoid disappointment.”
Applicants for the ICC Champions Trophy ticket ballot will be informed as to whether they have been successful in early October. Any tickets that have not been allocated through the ballot will be released on general sale on Thursday 27 October.
Emma Gray, Director of Marketing and Communications at Visit Birmingham, the city’s leisure tourism programme, said: “Birmingham has a proven track record of successfully delivering major global championships and events. Sport has played a key role in Birmingham’s 17% increase in tourists since 2010, with the city demonstrating over the past 12 months that it possesses the infrastructure and unrivalled connectivity to host fans at the prestigious Diamond League athletics, Davis Cup tennis and Rugby World Cup.
“There is always a special atmosphere, not only around Edgbaston Stadium but across Birmingham, when there is a Test Match or international cricket tournament in the city. We look forward to welcoming more fans than ever to next year’s ICC Champions Trophy and hope that they enjoy an exciting five days of cricket in Birmingham, plus our increasingly popular leisure offer, just as they did in 2013.”-Online
