The Pavilion flanked by the new East and West Stands |
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| Ground information | |
|---|---|
| Location | West End, Hampshire |
| Establishment | 2001 |
| Capacity | 25,000 |
| Owner | Eastleigh Borough Council |
| End names | |
| Pavilion End Northern End |
|
| International information | |
| Only Test | 16–20 June 2011: England v Sri Lanka |
| First ODI | 10 July 2003: South Africa v Zimbabwe |
| Last ODI | 22 June 2010: England v Pakistan |
| Domestic team information | |
| Hampshire (2001 – present) Hampshire Cricket Board (2001) |
|
| As of 27 June 2011 Source: CricketArchive |
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The Rose Bowl is an English cricket ground used for county, One Day International and Test Matches. It is situated at West End, Hampshire, near Southampton, and is home to Hampshire Cricket. The design of the venue by Hopkins Architects exploits a natural slope and transforms it into a bowl, hence the name. It is one of two new county headquarters built in England in recent years, the first for many decades, the other being Durham's ground at Chester-le-Street. The ends are called the Pavilion End and the Northern End. After well-publicised congestion problems in the early years, the venue has had a second access road built and issues over traffic egress have now been resolved.
The Rose Bowl also acts as a venue for conferences and big-name concerts. Recent acts to have performed at the Rose Bowl include Oasis, The Who, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel and R.E.M.
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One of Hampshire's aims was to attract international cricket. The old County Ground, Hampshire's home since 1885, no longer had the capability to do this. Land in West End, just outside of Southampton, was chosen as the location for The Rose Bowl. Construction began in March 1997 and was completed in time for the 2001 County Championship. The debut first-class match on the ground was against Worcestershire, ending in a victory by 124 runs for Hampshire.[1]
The Rose Bowl was also selected as one of three venues to host five matches in the ICC Champions Trophy in September 2004, along with The Oval and Edgbaston. Five fixtures were played there, with the national teams of Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United States and the West Indies playing matches there. It hosted England's first ever Twenty20 International, played against Australia in 2005. To date the ground has hosted 10 One-Day Internationals and 2 Twenty20 Internationals.[2][3]
In 2006 The Rose Bowl hosted a Twenty20 international between England and Sri Lanka and a One-Day International between England and Pakistan. Capacity was increased to over 19,000 for the 2006 Twenty20 International between England and Sri Lanka and 22,000 for the England ODI versus Pakistan.
In July 2008, the ground hosted the Twenty20 Cup final, Middlesex beating Kent by 3 runs.
In August 2010, the ground hosted the 2010 Friends Provident t20 finals day, in which history was created when the Hampshire Royals became the first team to win the tournament at their home ground as they defeated Somerset in dramatic scenes off the last ball of the match.[4]
In June 2011, the ground hosted its first Test match, as England played Sri Lanka in the 3rd test of the npower Test Series. It created history, becoming the 10th English Test cricket ground, and the first ground to host a Test match on the South Coast. The ground's curator Nigel Gray produced 'an excellent cricket wicket', which offered good pace and bounce for the bowlers, and also plenty of runs for the batsmen. England seamer Chris Tremlett took the first test 5-wicket haul at the ground with figures of 6–48, and Ian Bell became the first centurion, making 119. But unfortunately, a large amount of time was lost due to rain, and the match ended in a draw.[5]
There are plans for the ground to host a Test match in 2014 between England and India. Following the 2011 season, Hampshire found themselves £12 million in debt. To avert a second financial crisis at the county in the space of a decade, Eastleigh Borough Council agreed to buy the ground for £6.5 million and rent it back to Hampshire for £420,000 a year.[6]
In 2006, The Rose Bowl was awarded Test Match status by the ECB and at the same time announced a £45million development plan to turn the ground into one the best cricket and entertainment venues in the world.
In 2010, the first stage of this was realised as two new stands were completed around the ground, increasing the maximum seated capacity to 25,000.[7] The development will also involve the erection of a 175-bedroom, 4-star hotel with 75 hospitality boxes overlooking the ground. It means the ground will become the first ever "Model" Test match ground, meeting the Club's ambition to become a "Beyond First Class" venue.
Also in 2010, The Rose Bowl was voted "Best International Ground" in an independent ECB survey of fans around the country and was also voted the "Most Improved Ground" by readers of All Out Cricket magazine.
The Nursery Ground is adjacent to The Rose Bowl and plays host to Second XI and Academy matches. The Academy team plays its matches in the Southern Premier Cricket League. In 2004, the second XI pavilion on the Nursery Ground at The Rose Bowl stadium was officially named "The Arthur Holt Pavilion" in memory of a great servant to the club.
The ground currently has an adjoining 9-hole golf course. Part of the redevelopment of the ground will see the expansion of the current course to an 18-hole Championship Course.
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