Birmingham’s Edgbaston Stadium has made another prestigious industry awards shortlist, with its hosting of NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day being named as one of six candidates for Event of the Year.
The Event of the Year award, which is one of 10 accolades that will be presented at the Stadium Business Awards at Emirates Old Trafford on 12 June, recognises the best sports or non-sports event, guest event, concert or one-off spectacle held at a major sports venue in the last 12 months.
Being shortlisted shows how far Finals Day has come, whilst it also demonstrates the strength of the partnership between the England and Wales Cricket Board, Sky Sports and Warwickshire County Cricket Club in delivering such a great event for the record crowd in attendance.
Gareth Roberts
Finals Day at Edgbaston is named on the shortlist alongside WWE Wrestlemania at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, World Boxing Organisation’s Battle of Brisbane, #Game4Grenfell at Loftus Road in London, the first Day/Night Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval and the Arsenal FC in Sydney Tour.
Gareth Roberts, Commercial Director at Warwickshire County Cricket Club, said: “NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston has already been shortlisted for the BT Sport Industry’s Entertainment Experience of the Year, which is arguably the biggest industry awards event in the UK. However, being shortlisted for the Stadium Business Awards puts us onto the international stage against some of the most recognised sporting events in the world.
“Being shortlisted shows how far Finals Day has come, whilst it also demonstrates the strength of the partnership between the England and Wales Cricket Board, Sky Sports and Warwickshire County Cricket Club in delivering such a great event for the record crowd in attendance.”
Edgbaston hosted Finals Day for the ninth time in 2017 and it was widely recognised as being the best in the 15-year history of the tournament by breaking records on and off the field.
On the field, the event saw 1,000 runs scored for the first time, with Notts Outlaws taking home the trophy by beating home side Birmingham Bears in the Final. Off the field, Edgbaston accommodated a record crowd of 24,426 with the event receiving a match day experience score of 8.8 out of 10, in a post-event survey completed by ticket purchasers. Within this, Finals Day 2017 also received its highest ever score for atmosphere, which was ranked at 9.4 out of 10.
Finals Day returns to Edgbaston on 15 September this year, with ticket sales currently 170 per cent up compared to the same period in 2017.
In response the venue has today announced that it is boosting capacity of Edgbaston by 850 seats as part of a commercial partnership with Arena Seating, which will see a temporary stand erected above the Stanley Barnes Stand at the Birmingham End of the ground.
Tickets can be purchase for Finals Day 2018 by visiting www.edgbaston.com/tickets or calling the Ticket Hotline on 0844 847 1902.
