In this content collaboration with Total Play Ltd, we’ll be looking at funding your cricket club’s outdoor nets facility, match pitches or artificial cricket surfaces.
Cricket Yorkshire has partnered with Total Play for years because they offer incredible expertise with sports surface design and construction, including six different ECB-approved systems.
Whether it’s a new natural or artificial pitch for games or building an outdoor practice facility, these projects all require time and consideration over months or years by club volunteers.
How they are funded will differ but obviously, it’s key to planning and realising that ambition. Inevitably, clubs often go a variety of routes to collectively pool the funds required, particularly with major infrastructure builds.
So, what are some of the funding options that clubs typically pursue?
The ECB County Grants Fund
This is now open for 2024 applications from clubs who are expected to choose one of the three central themes:
- Creating Welcoming Environments
- Providing Enhanced Facilities and Playing Opportunities for Women’s and Girls’ Cricket and / or Disability Cricket
- Tackling Climate Change
I’d advise two things if your club is looking for funding from this ECB Fund. First off, read the full guidance to understand where your club’s needs fit in terms of their themes and if you qualify.
The ECB’s supporting materials specify that an ECB Approved Non-Turf Match Pitch or an ECB Approved Non-Turf Practice Facility qualify under the second theme of ‘Providing enhanced facilities and playing opportunities for women’s and girls’ cricket and/or disability cricket.’
The second piece of advice? Talk to your county board. They support clubs with funding every year and will save you time and make sure your application stands the best chance.
Other Funding Avenues
Cricket clubs have had success in a variety of ways when it comes to funding non-turf pitches, outdoor cricket nets or work on their grass cricket square.
Crowdfunder is popular (lots of clubs on there using this route to offer rewards – New Earswick raised £11,751 with 67 supporters in 83 days and here are projects successfully funded for examples.
Meanwhile, Harrogate Cricket Club successfully raised £30,351 in just 28 days and are now having their outdoor nets built this Spring, by Total Play, at St George’s Road.
Justgiving and GoFundMe are other fundraising websites to consider too. Some require a fixed time to raise the full amount which adds pressure but can also come with incentives such as topped-up Sport England funding.
Total Play has comprehensive resources on Planning & Funding to support clubs as much as possible.
Here are some of the opportunities to look into:
🏏 Sport England Community Asset Fund
🏏 National Lottery – Awards For All
🏏 ECB Small Grants
🏏 London Marathon Charitable Trust
🏏 ECB ‘Interest-free loans’
🏏 Coal Field Regeneration Trusts
🏏 Wind Farm Community Initiatives
🏏 Local community landfill trusts (Suez Communities (SITA) trust, FCC (WREN), Cemex, Viridor and Veolia)
🏏 Initiatives by supermarket chains
Club Focus: Feedback from Morley
Morley Cricket Club, of the Bradford Premier League, opted to upgrade their facility that had got beyond serviceable repair.
They chose Total Play to carry out the work to build a stunning 4-lane training hub that had a concrete base laid with carpets, steelwork and netting.
This was surrounded by concrete block retaining walls which would not allow for refurbishing to an ECB-approved status but Total Play regenerated an alternate area onsite which was one of two former bowling greens.
Jeremy Hudson from Morley Cricket Club was heavily involved in the project and kindly shared his thoughts. As many do, Morley researched potential suppliers (it had to be an ECB-approved company as the cricket club had won ECB funding).
Site visits followed to take soil samples and determine the best orientation for the nets.
Morley then had a quote covering different options, with advice throughout to talk it through. There was a structured payment plan tied in upon completion of milestones during the build.
Jeremy told me: “With regards to the build, this was undertaken during winter months and the team worked throughout some awful conditions, snow, wind and rain, but not once was the completion date impacted.”
He added: “The whole build from the original quote right through to completion of the project went so smoothly with no issues or additional costs; what you are quoted is what you pay!”
Morley had funding from the ECB County Grants Fund along with support from landfill charities. Any shortfall was raised via fundraising events such as a bonfire night, beer festival, sponsored walk and a crowdfunding appeal, supported by Sport England.
A project like this can increase membership, improve practice, serve the wider community and be a welcome legacy. How have their new outdoor cricket nets been received?
Jeremy said: “The nets have made a huge impact allowing us to cater for more people. We have seen a large increase in the number of people wanting to play cricket at Morley and the new 4 lanes allow us to have better-structured sessions all year round, whilst being able to hire them out to third parties.”
“As a result of the success of the nets, we are currently in the process of redeveloping a disused building; once completed there will be new changing facilities to complement the nets, again allowing us to cater for more groups!”
Talk to Clubs
If working towards a new grass surface, artificial or practice facility is what your club wants then it makes perfect sense to seek out others who have worked with Total Play and have already succeeded with funding.
As well as Morley, there’s Heslington, Hessle, Easingwold, Knaresborough, Otley and New Earswick as just some of the clubs in Yorkshire you might wish to get in touch with.
Contact Total Play
if your cricket club has a new or refurbished pitch or facility in its future plans then get in touch with Anthony Burton at Total Play to learn more and explore what’s possible.
They have contacts with funding experts and can help cricket clubs understand the process involved from a first enquiry to a spectacular final facility that will be there for many years to come.
Contact Anthony Burton via [email protected] or you can visit total-play.co.uk.
*This is a sponsored article on behalf of Total Play – if the mood takes you, click to read Cricket Yorkshire’s policy on sponsored content.**
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