New Lancashire cricket venue set to be 'incredibly special' for both club and county
Building work at Lancashire's new second home has been officially completed.
Key Lancashire figures state the cricket club’s new second home at Farington presents an outline of their long-term ambition.
Building work on the facility has officially been completed, with the council-led development being handed over on Monday.
Farington will be used alongside Lancashire’s main base at Emirates Old Trafford, and it’s hoped games will start taking place at the venue this summer.
As well as hosting various Red Rose fixtures, the site will also be available to teams in the local community.
“Farington is going to be an incredibly special place to the club and to the county - to the future stars of Lancashire cricket and England,” interim chair Dame Sarah Storey said.
“We don’t have a facility like this anywhere else in the UK. It’s feeding the pathway of Lancashire County Cricket Club, it’s enabling the children of Lancashire and further afield to come here and experience the type of facilities they need to experience.
“It’s amazing to have this outground and training facility to see the champions of the future made here.
“It enables an ambition from the club right from the grassroots of the sport right through to the pinnacle.
“It’s the ambition that has really struck me, and to see it in the flesh means our ambition can get even bigger.”
What Farington could mean for Lancashire’s other outgrounds
While the club will make the most of their new facility going forward beyond this summer, Lancashire will continue to work with their other outgrounds across the region.
“For a lot of the Lancs staff it’s great for them to see it because it’s been at the forefront of a lot of our meeting agendas over the last 12 months,” Director of Cricket Performance Mark Chilton stated.
“We’ll always term Emirates Old Trafford as our home, but I think as time goes on we’ll get very comfortable here. It’s a nice site to be at, it’s a nice environment. It will come to feel like a second home, and we’re excited to see all of the other things that will take place here.
“There’ll be a transition of how much cricket we can play here - it’ll obviously be a priority for us. At the same time, we’re hugely grateful for the network that supports Lancashire programmes - not just at first-team level for the men and women, but right across the pathways.
“We need the help and support of clubs, and we’ll continue to need that, even with a great site like this.
“Whether it’s the Southport’s, the Blackpool’s, the Sedbergh’s or the Liverpool’s, we’ll still be tapping into that network I’m sure.”