£32m Edgbaston ground growth nearly over

A £32 million expansion of Edgbaston cricket ground — increasing capacity to 25,000 — is nearly finished, as these pictures show.

The new stand at Warwickshire County Cricket Club, between the Eric Hollies and Priory stands, is near completion.

Floors to a 750-seater banqueting suite and the fine dining restaurant have been laid. The restaurant at the Birmingham ground will be called the Jaguar Club after the Bears signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the car maker.

• Click on the gallery to your right for more pictures

History of the Test arena takes pride of place, occupying the first floor of the stand with 14 zones for visitors replacing the club museum.

The curved shell of the building, on the Edgbaston Road side of the ground, hangs over the entrance, providing extra space for revamped players' rooms and gym, a members' lounge and an executive 1882 Club, named after the year the club was formed.

Chief executive Colin Povey said today: "The choice we had was to something piecemeal or in a big way and we took the latter view, to make the ground a real amphitheatre for international cricket."

It will give Warwickshire a good chance of attracting the most high-profile matches with capacity greater than Nottingham's 17,000 Trent Bridge stadium, or Glamorgan's 15,000-seater Swalec Stadium.

New media facilities will lock in the crowd noise at the ground popular for its "Bullring" atmosphere for opposition players.

Attracting high profile fixtures will have knock-on effects for Birmingham's tourism and economy, Mr Povey added.

"The media stand shows a stunning vista of Birmingham, especially highlighting its greenery, with a panoramic view of the ground. It's a great showcase for the city."

The Edgbaston name is not for sale, Mr Povey also insisted.

The club is looking for naming rights partners for the new stand, featuring an haute cuisine restaurant and striking glass-fronted media facilities.

But Mr Povey says: "Heritage means a lot to us and the Edgbaston name is not for sale. We would accept a deal with a naming rights partner but Edgbaston would have to be at the heart of the name."

He added that, though the club posted more than a £2m loss last year, the "large exceptional costs of the scheme" would pay off in guaranteeing Test matches in Birmingham. The finished scheme will feature offices, shops and apartments at the site.

Construction is set to be finished in the first week in July, ahead of the expanded ground's official opening on the first day of England Test match against India on August 10.