Warwickshire Cricket Foundation and Warwickshire County Cricket Club are at the forefront of a new Government initiative which will see five new state-of-the-art all-weather domes built across the country.
Cricket fever is set to sweep the nation this summer, with England hosting a major global tournament – the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup – for the first time since the men’s side famously won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2019. And with the event aiming to inspire event more women and girls into the game, the Government has announced a further £3m injection to open up access to year-round cricket in even more communities. Five more state-of-the-art domes will now be built in areas currently lacking high-class all-weather facilities: Bolton, Derby, Newcastle and Nottingham, and Birmingham, where England meet Sri Lanka in Friday night’s tournament opener.
The location for the dome in Birmingham has not yet been confirmed, but Warwickshire Cricket Foundation is working through a framework in line with its ever-evolving Facilities Strategy, which is supported by their strategy of Cricket Without Limits. These plans are integral to the decision which will be made on the location of the dome.
All five domes will place an emphasis on continuing the surge in female participation that has seen more than 2,000 new women’s and girls’ teams launch across the country since the start of 2024.
Warwickshire Cricket Foundation has seen this increase firsthand, with a 75% increase in recreational cricket club fixtures from 2024-2025. They work in partnership with Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid, funded by Comic Relief for five years, to use cricket to tackle violence against girls and have focussed the ECB-funded Cricket Cities programme on female engagement.
Fidelis Navas, Managing Director of the Warwickshire Cricket Foundation, said: “Being selected as one of five cities to receive funding to enhance the cricket offering for our communities is testament to the industry-leading work we do at the Warwickshire Cricket Foundation.
“Removing barriers to entry and providing more opportunities for people to take part in cricket is at the heart of what we do, and the funding to build an all-weather dome will allow us to reach more people and make cricket even more accessible.”
The announcement follows the opening last week of the country’s third ECB-funded dome. The latest opened in Willenhall, West Midlands, with two others already open in Bradford and in Darwen, Lancashire.
The domes are part of the ECB’s push to make cricket the most inclusive team sport, opening up the sport to people of all backgrounds by bringing quality facilities to their doorsteps.
The ECB will match the Government’s £3 million injection. Last year the Government also announced £1.5 million to build domes in Luton and Farington. The first of those is due to open later this summer, but ahead of the World Cup, the Government and ECB are already turbocharging the tournament’s legacy.
Sports Minister Stephanie Peacock said: “Cricket has such a brilliant ability to bring people from different backgrounds together. We want people all over the country to be able to enjoy our great summer sport – and not just when the sun is shining. “We’re putting facilities people can be proud of at the heart of their communities and helping to ensure this summer’s Women’s T20 World Cup leaves a lasting impact across the country.”
The five new domes are expected to open throughout the 2027 cricket season, giving communities a place to come together, keep fit and play sport recreationally. They will also remove a major barrier on the pathway from grassroots level to the elite for girls and boys inspired by the tournament’s ‘Catch The Spirit’ ethos as they watch the world’s best players this summer.
The Government’s investment is part of its wider £400 million package to build and upgrade grassroots facilities across the UK. While the domes will be cricket-led, all five sites will support a range of sports and activities, helping more local people get active year-round.