Many sports clubs have had it hard over the past 3 years, with many seeing membership numbers declining coupled with rising costs. But spare a thought for your local cricket club, which has seen more financial pain than most. Not only do they have a recession do deal with but they have had one of the worst Summers on record which has decimated their revenue streams.
Every club has to bear the brunt of rising fuel, telecom and maintenance bills but, cricket would appear to be the hardest hit. Their financial exposure to the elements is very fragile and many are facing a bleak financial nightmare. When it rains it pours, games get called off and vital income is lost forever, no match fees, no bar takings and reduced sponsorship all take their toll. Some clubs have space to facilitate their ground being used by caravan clubs, bringing in vital outside revenue. These clubs can pay around £4 per caravan per night. One local club has a regular income of £12,000 per year for the various rallies it hosts but, with the dreadful weather this year most of these have had to be cancelled as access to the ground is almost impossible.
Many cricket clubs have lost at least 4 games per team this year, because of the weather. Match fees range from £6 to £12 so if your club charges £10 per player, they have reduced their income by £110 per match. Many clubs have more than one team so will be losing out by even more. Imagine a local side that has 4 sides, with 4 weeks being cancelled, they have lost in excess of £1500 from match fees alone. Now take into consideration the loss of revenue from bar takings.
Clubs can and will be around £4000 down this year, if they hire out their ground to caravan clubs, that could rise to well over £10,000. How clubs survive this shortfall, we don't know but, maybe the ECB will be called upon to make hefty contributions to ensure that cricket clubs are able to survive. The pain is likely to be felt most in the close season with some clubs failing to re-open their doors next year.
