Rose Bowl, Hampshire

Infobox cricket ground
ground_name = The Rose Bowl
nickname =

---

country = England
location = West End, Southampton
establishment = 2001
seating_capacity = 6,500
"20,000 for internationals"
end1 = Pavilion End
end2 = Northern End
international = true
firstodidate = 10 July
firstodiyear = 2003
firstodihome = South Africa
firstodiaway = Zimbabwe
lastodidate = 21 August
lastodiyear = 2007
lastodihome = England
lastodiaway = India
year1 = 2001 – present
club1 = Hampshire
date = 15 December
year = 2007
source = http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/745.html CricketArchiveThe Rose Bowl is an English cricket stadium used for county and One Day International matches. It is situated at West End, Hampshire near Southampton, and is home to Hampshire County Cricket Club. It is a recently built venue set into an amphitheatre creating 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.

Like Durham's Riverside Ground the Rose Bowl has been allocated a few England international matches and in 2006 it hosted a Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka and a One-Day International against Pakistan. The capacity is flexible, ranging upwards from 9,000. It 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. The ends are called the "Pavilion End" and the "Northern End". The venue's main flaw is that it only has one access road, which has led to well-publicised congestion problems after several matches.

The owner of the Rose Bowl has announced plans to increase the maximum seated capacity to 25,000 by adding a pair of matching stands on either side of the pavilion and constructing a large stand at the Northern End. This will include 15,000 permanent seats, of which 6,000 will be under cover. [http://www.rosebowlplc.com/pages/new-developments/] On November 24, 2006, the Rose Bowl was awarded provisional test venue status by the England and Wales Cricket Board, with the prospect of the ground hosting its first test match in 2010. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/6180590.stm Rose Bowl gets nod to host Tests] ] .The ECB's conditions are that the ground development proceeds, that an additional access route is provided, that the quality of the pitch improves and that the profits from international games are reinvested in enhancement of the venue. [ [http://www.hampshirecricket.com/news/241106_accredited.htm ECB board approves provisional category A accredited status for The Rose Bowl] , "hampshirecricket.com", 24 November 2006.] The development will also involve expanding the current 9 hole golf course on site to 18 holes, and erecting a 175 bedroom 4 star hotel with 75 hospitality boxes overlooking the ground. A public exhibition showing the plans was held in October 2007. [http://www.rosebowlplc.com/news/public-exhibition/]

In July 2008 the ground hosted the Twenty20 Cup final, Middlesex beating Kent by 3 runs.

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 and R.E.M..

The Arthur Holt Pavilion

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.

ee also

*List of cricket grounds in England and Wales

External links

* [http://www.rosebowlplc.com/ Official site]

References