BDP-designed AO Farington Cricket Ground crux community cricket

Article posted by Coliseum, August 26^th, 2026

Image: BDP

The AO Farington Cricket Ground in Farington, Lancashire, England (UK) has officially opened thus creating a new home for professional, community and youth cricket in Lancashire.

Community Cricket

Delivered by the Lancashire Cricket Foundation (the official charity of Lancashire Cricket operating across the North West of England) the venue will provide more than 750 hours of community cricket activity each year. It will also become Lancashire Cricket’s second home hosting four First Team Metro Bank One-Day Cup fixtures during the 2026 season.

Community Launch Event

‘BDP’ stated that the opening was marked with a community launch event bringing together the young players, the local schools, the project partners, and Lancashire Cricket to celebrate the new facility.

The 5,000-seat Farington Cricket Ground, also known as the AO Farington Cricket Ground for sponsorship reasons, is a cricket ground in Farington, Lancashire, England (UK). It opened in 2026 as a second base for the Lancashire County Cricket Club.

The Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic County of Lancashire in English cricket. The club has held first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire’s home is the 19,000-seat Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England (UK) although the team also play matches at other grounds around the County.

Celebrations

‘BDP’ further stated that first cricket was also played across both ovals with Lancashire’s Under-16 Boys taking on Yorkshire in a 50-over fixture on the Professional Oval while more than 300 girls took part in a Dynamos schools’ event on the Community Oval. The Lancashire players Tom Bailey and Summer Carrington joined the celebrations meeting the young cricketers and taking part in activities throughout the day.

Dedicated Venue

Designed by BDP in partnership with the Lancashire County Cricket Club, the Lancashire County Council and the England and Wales Cricket Board (the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales) the AO Farington Cricket Ground has been created to support the changing needs of the game thus providing a dedicated venue for professional cricket alongside facilities that encourage more people to take part.

Manchester (UK)-based BDP is a leading, global, multidisciplinary design practice united by a shared purpose: To design a world that’s built for good. For more than 60 years they have been solving problems, creating innovative environments and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. From the start BDP has been pioneers in the world of design and their legacy is built on the meaningful, people-centered places they have brought to life.

Welcoming Place for Communities

Cricket continues to grow and evolve. The rise of new formats, including T20 a fast-paced, shortened format of cricket where each team plays a single innings limited to a maximum of 20 overs [120 legal balls] and The Hundred (a professional 100-ball cricket tournament in England and Wales) alongside a growing international fixture calendar and the increasing visibility of the women’s game has created new opportunities but also placed greater pressure on the established cricket venues. Farington forms part of Lancashire Cricket’s long-term ambition to provide the space needed to support the next generation of players while creating a welcoming place for the communities to enjoy the sport.

Urban-Rural Setting

The project builds on BDP’s long-standing relationship with Lancashire Cricket following more than 15 years of collaboration on the transformation of the Emirates Old Trafford into a multifunctional international cricket and events venue. While the Old Trafford’s redevelopment has focused on maximizing the potential of a major urban stadium Farington presented a different challenge: Creating a high-quality cricket ground that sits sensitively within its rural setting.

Community Oval

The AO Farington Cricket Ground features two ovals at its heart: A professional-standard ground capable of hosting the county fixtures and a dedicated Community Oval designed for grassroots, recreational and youth cricket. The site also includes outdoor practice nets and an indoor cricket dome with a pavilion positioned between the two grounds completing the development.

Sheltered Environment

The landscape-led approach preserves the character of the site thus retaining the mature trees and the hedgerows while introducing the biodiverse grasslands, the native planting and more than 200 new trees. These elements help create a sheltered environment for cricket while enhancing the wider ecology of the site.

At-home Venue

Averred Andrew Capewell, Architect Director, BDP, “Cricket is changing. The game is reaching new audiences, new formats are bringing fresh energy and there is a growing need for facilities that support both the elite performance and the community participation. Farington is a special place. The challenge was to create a venue that feels at home in its landscape while providing the quality of facilities needed for professional cricket. The two ovals, the pavilion and the wider landscape have been designed to work together as a place where the players, the families, the schools, and the communities can all feel welcome. It has been a privilege to work alongside Lancashire Cricket over many years and Farington represents another important step in supporting the future of the game.”

Making History

And the ground has already made history with Lancashire Men securing a six-wicket victory over Kent Spitfires (Kent County Cricket Club limited overs team) in the first professional fixture played at the AO Farington Cricket Ground.

The opening follows AO’s (a major UK-based online electrical retailer) 10-year naming rights partnership with Lancashire Cricket which aims to introduce more than 150,000 young people to cricket over the next decade. The development has also been supported by £1.6 million of funding from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

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