Craig Flindall is of a cherubic and cheerful nature and he has been with the Warwickshire County Cricket Club (UK) for nearly 15 years now.
The Warwickshire County Cricket Club was established as a Provident Society in 1882. The Edgbaston Stadium became the home of the Warwickshire County Cricket Club in 1885 and a host of international cricket has been held there for the last 120 years.
Craig Flindall is presently the Strategy Director at the iconic Warwickshire County Cricket Club (WCCC) and the Edgbaston Stadium which delivers £35m of annual economic value and supports 1,000 full-time jobs from the 400,000 visitors it hosts every year. Within his role, Flindall looks after the Stadium Masterplan and has successfully delivered the first two phases including a new £32m pavilion, the entrance piazza and 375 BTR apartments.
In an exclusive with Coliseum, Craig Flindall, COO, Edgbaston Stadium/Warwickshire CCC, UK, states that after delivering the first two Phases of the Edgbaston Stadium Masterplan now they are all ready to deliver Phase 3 which will include replacing the Priory and Raglan stands with a new stand and adding a hotel, enhancing the stadium’s facilities and transforming it into a year-round multiuse destination. All their Masterplans have been implemented keeping the community in mind.
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
The Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales (UK). It represents the historic county of Warwickshire. The 25,000-capacity Edgbaston Stadium serves as their residence.
Commented Craig Flindall, “In cricket, we are famous for innovation and at Edgbaston we have hosted the first-ever Women’s World Cup in 1973. It has seen an explosion in sports in recent years. The first ever Day-Night Test Match was held in 1997. We are also known in UK for a great atmosphere and our brand positioning decides how we design a Master Plan and it really exemplifies our brand.”
He shared that they faced a lot of underlying financial challenges while implementing the previous Master Plans and COVID also played havoc.
Flindall added, “I am really in the development of the venues and we had no clear Master Plan for a really long time. It was like losing the rainbow. In 2005, we started thinking that we have to push the grounds to modernize and we can also make some more money after the cricket matches. So, that forced us to think about our Master Plan. Experience Edgbaston was far from excellent. Hosting of international cricket drove vast majority of our revenues.”
The Future of Edgbaston
He further shared, “In 2024, everything was completed. We also did an intermediate phase in terms of experiential hospitality facilities – hospitality suites, open air experiential hospitality areas, we also created our catering corners with Levy restaurants and offer great opportunities for people in the local community like become new chefs, new catering persons.”
Wrap-up
Craig Flindall wrapped up by stating, “In Phase 3, the replacement 3,000 stands will generate additional revenue and there will be the 146-bed Radisson RED hotel with 85 pitch facing rooms of which 18 will be fully convertible into hospitality Boxes and there will be a rooftop restaurant with outside terrace offering panoramic City views.”
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