The Final Countdown

Jane Cable takes a second trip around the new stands with Glenn Delve

With just two weeks to go until the England v Australia One Day International at The Rose Bowl, work on the new stands is gathering pace. So once again I put on hard hat and boots to accompany Group Managing Director Glenn Delve and photographer Dave Vokes around the construction site.

The first thing to note is that it is actually far less of a construction site than it was a month ago. Block paving is going onto the internal concourses which gives everything a far more finished feel. But that’s not all: “Roller shutters are in place for the concessions, first fix mechanical and electrical has been finished, the internal walls are up and all the services – like the air conditioning – are now going through.” Glenn clearly sounds relieved at the amount of progress. “It makes a massive difference when the block paving goes down because you almost begin to see it in its final form. If you cleared the builders out it almost looks as though you could use it now!”

When I started to write about Hampshire Cricket I didn’t exactly envisage I’d be writing about toilets, but they are impressive and Glenn is waxing lyrical. “The resin flooring is down, but you can’t see it because it’s all covered up, and there are cubicles being built. I have to say that the paint colour in the gents is wrong, but they won’t have time to correct it before we open It should have been a darker grey.” So clearly a great deal of attention to detail has gone into every corner of the project. “Everything has been specially selected. People expect stainless steel urinals but they stain and dent so they are hard to present well and to keep clean. The units we’ve chosen are GRP so they’re robust and will look fresh and new a year from now rather than just on the first day. Drivas Jonas think these will be the most luxurious concourse toilets anywhere in the UK!” Ladies will also be pleased to know that the facilities available for us are extensive so hopefully the queues won’t be too long.

One area that won’t be ready for the 22nd of June is the new Hampshire shop. “It wasn’t a priority” Glenn explains “But you can see how it will work. It’s near the main gate and there’s lots of glass to the front and to the back concourse. It’s a good size so much more what we need.”

It is now easy to see how the layout for the food and drink concessions will work, with store and kitchen areas built and serving counters onto both inner and outer concourses complete. The ones in the East Stand even have their ‘pythons’ fitted, ready to carry the vast quantities of beer likely to be consumed on big match days. But what of the food? “It will be the standard concession foods that people like to eat” Glenn told me. “Shire Pies – one of the best pies available in the UK, Herta Hot Dogs, pizza, chips and, of course, the archetypal burger.”

For the first time I am able to walk up the outside of the West Stand, through the Silver Debenture holder area and into the area where their exclusive curved bar will be. “One of the first things you notice is that there’s no scaffolding and so you can really appreciate the fantastic view. Even right in the corner there is very little you’ll miss when the boundary ropes are right out.”

And on the top of the West Stand is a shared hospitality area that has a ‘working’ name. “We’re in the Shane Warne Suite and the glazing and air handling are now going in. There’s a very nice finish to the walls and ceiling, and there will be a feature wall at the back which probably won’t be ready for the 22nd – we may just paint it over – but you can really see the shape of the room and how similar it’s going to be to the Robin Smith Suite.”

The rest of the top floor of the stand is mainly filled with executive boxes, but will also contain two radio broadcast boxes and new permanent homes for the scorers and PA announcer, the police and the stewards. The match day control room is at the far western end, together with a special crisis management area which can be used in the event of an emergency on the ground. “You need a space where, if there is a crisis, the match commander, police, safety officer and ground management can get together to talk about what is going to be done; you need a room providing a quiet area whereby they can be shut away from everyone else to make calm and balanced decisions.”

Even the new road with its exit onto Moorhill Road is almost complete. “The new road now has a layer of tarmac chippings down along the length. It starts life as a haul road, but it will be used for major matches by the media and hospitality guests – basically everyone who will be allowed to park on site.”

The outer concourses have now been tarmaced and the block paving put down at either end. The East and West Stands mirror each other downstairs “like a butterfly with outstretched wings” say Glenn rather poetically – but upstairs the use will be very different. The East Stand will house a palatial new media centre which if course immediately grabs my interest.

The media even have their own lobby and own lift to whisk them to the top floor. “What you’ll notice in this stand is that the ceilings are all up and the walls have been painted. Everything here feels calmer because they’re much more progressed; there’s lots of cables trailing but I am assured by the contractors that it will be ready.” As well as three radio boxes there is an enormous press box with three tiers of seating, enough to hold 100 journalists, and a special room for the photographers which has direct access onto the pitch. Even so, this facility is only temporary until the hotel is finished, probably in 2012.

Walking around it is clear to see that some areas are far more complete than others, and of course the million dollar question is still whether the contractors will meet the handover deadline of 18th June – exactly two weeks after my trip around. Glenn is as candid as ever. “The difficulty is that I don’t know – I can’t really look at this and say ‘ah yes, it’s two weeks’ or three weeks’ work’. I have to rely on the contractor’s progress reports and the credibility they’ve built up is that since the revised timetable was given to us in February, they’ve hit it and we’ve never had to revise it again. That programme says that everything will be ready, but you walk around here and think – two weeks – how on earth are they going to achieve that? But as I say, they’ve achieved it thus far.”
 

This summer Jane Cable is also writing for the Cricket on Five website at www.five.tv/programmes/sport/cricket-on-five

Photographs courtesy of LMI Photography

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