Whatever Australian cricket can do, English Cricket can (supposedly) do it better. That is according to The Times in London, which reports that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is looking at Tasmania’s Macquarie Point – the world’s first timber-roofed cricket stadium – as part of a £500m revamp of Old Trafford in Manchester.
Now flush with cash, the ECB could build a lookalike indoor stadium—famous for frequent rain delays—with the Sun reporting that it could be included in Manchester United’s £2bn regeneration of the Old Trafford precinct.
The case for a new indoor stadium comes as more than 100 days of Test cricket in England have been entirely washed out, or one day lost for every 5.25 tests played. Old Trafford is by some distance the worst-hit venue, losing one day for every 2.7 tests staged—including the last two days of the 2023 Ashes test, which denied England a 3-2 win.
Richard Thomspon, ECB chairman, is a leading proponent of the scheme and has identified Manchester as the region most in need of a covered stadium. “It has to happen, and the stats point to there [Manchester] as a venue,” he said. “After such a large financial windfall, it is felt that this is the right time to be bold.”
First reported in July last year, plans for the 23,000-all-seated Macquarie Point Stadium (which could now cost more than $1 billion) includes a timber-hybrid domed roof that stands 51 metres above the centre wicket. According to the 265-page Macquarie Point Stadium summary report submitted to the Tasmanian Planning Commission in September, the roof, designed by Cox Architecture, will cost $160m – with fully translucent ETFE pillows (on the outside) combining with locally sourced glulam (on the inside) “to promote an awe-inspiring experience.”
“The streamlined structure allows the maximum internal height above the pitch centre and an overall form that reduces height and scale across all elevations, establishing a height at street interfaces comparable to and compatible with the scale of existing buildings,” the report said, “using lightweight ETFE pillows, a 20mm timber laminate, a (secondary) glulam timber system, and Aramax Metal Deck Cladding.”
ECB’s push comes just days after Cricket Australia wrote to the Tasmanian government expressing concerns over Macquarie Point’s current roof design – which they claim significantly impairs sight lines over the centre wicket: “We are of the view that the current roof design will mean the stadium is unlikely to be conducive to hosting test matches and could also be challenged in hosting One Day (50 over) and T20 (20 over) fixtures,” according to a letter co-signed by outgoing Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley and Cricket Tasmania’s Dominic Baker.
“This is not an outcome that either CA (Cricket Australia) or CT (Cricket Tasmania) wants, and CT will be strongly challenged by its members to advocate for an alternate solution,” the letter continues. “For this reason, we would like to discuss with you what opportunity there is to consider a stadium design option that does not have a roof or that has an operable roof.”
- To learn more about the Macquarie Point Stadium, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
