3. Biz Network July August 2021 65-100.qxp_Chamberlink 30/06/2021 11:41 Page 66
FOCUS FEATURE
BUSINESS OF SPORT
Bouncing back The return of sports fans after Covid-19 From elite football and cricket to shining stars in the smaller worlds of basketball and ice hockey, the East Midlands is a hotbed of sport. But the pandemic has put a huge dent in their finances, with the gradual return of fans only making up a fraction of the shortfall so far, as Dan Robinson reports. t had been 20 months since the last time they’d had the pleasure but, on Thursday 20 May, Derbyshire County Cricket Club’s fans were back in their seats at the Incora County Ground to watch their team take on Durham. The weather was most likely similar to the typical English elements the last time they were present – sunshine interspersed with drizzle – and many of the players were the same. Otherwise, this visit was noticeably different. There were queues into the ground for fans to pass through kiosks that checked temperatures and dispensed hand sanitiser, face masks were a requirement and the attendance was noticeably lower, capped at 850 people due to coronavirus restrictions. Chairman Ian Morgan OBE says: “It was great to be able to open the ground again and watch a cricket match for so many people. “But it was noticeable that there were some regulars who didn’t attend because they were still a bit worried about the whole situation.” For the club, the constraints on admitting fans – less than 25% of the 5,000 capacity due to local regulations – were less than ideal. It required a threefold increase in the number of stewards and catering staff, alongside a large team of cleaners, while splitting the stadium into six contained zones meant installing more portable toilets and refreshments stands. “The problem is not only did we have to significantly reduce the capacity, but the cost of reopening is huge and the process of getting people into the ground is very timeconsuming,” says Ian.
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Ian Morgan OBE at Derbyshire CCC’s Incora County Ground 66
business network July/August 2021
“Essex CCC was only allowed 250 people and reverted to playing behind closed doors because they were making such a big loss. “We’re certainly losing more money than we were when matches were played in an empty stadium but we felt we owed it to our members, who haven’t been able to watch any cricket for so long.” FOR CLUBS LIKE Derbyshire CCC, and countless others in less wealthy sports, the pandemic has had a crippling effect. The cricket season was due to get underway in March last year but, as Britain went into the first lockdown, it wasn’t until August when play finally started without fans. Derbyshire was one of the luckier clubs, having loaned its ground for a fee to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to accommodate touring teams playing England. And while the ECB also kept up broadcasting payments to county teams – making up the shortfall by agreeing to additional international matches – the lost revenue from tickets, refreshments and hospitality events including a postponed Michael Bublé concert meant the club, which usually turns over £5.5m annually, found itself £2m short.
