Bristol County Ground

Bristol County Ground

Ground information
Location	Nevil Road, Ashley Down, Bristol
Establishment	1889
Capacity	8,000 17,500 for internationals
End names
Bristol Pavilion End Ashley Down Road End
International information
First ODI	13 June 1983:  New Zealand v  Sri Lanka
Last ODI	26 June 2016:  England v  Sri Lanka
First T20I	28 Aug 2006:  England v  Pakistan
Last T20I	25 June 2011:  England v  Sri Lanka
Team information
Gloucestershire (1889 – present)
As of 14 May 2015 Source: CricInfo

The Bristol County Ground (also known as Nevil Road), known for sponsorship reasons as The Brightside Ground,^[1] is a senior cricket venue in Bristol, England. It is in the district of Ashley Down. The ground is home to Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.

Initially known as Ashley Down Ground, it was bought in 1889 by W. G. Grace and has been home to Gloucestershire ever since. It was sold to local confectionery firm J. S. Fry & Sons and renamed Fry's Ground. The club bought the ground back in 1933 and it reverted to its original name. It was sold again in 1976, this time to Royal & Sun Alliance who renamed the ground the Phoenix County Ground for eight years before changing to The Royal & Sun Alliance County Ground until the ground was again bought by the club and took it up its current title.

The ground hosts One Day Internationals, usually one per year, with the addition of temporary seating to increase the ground's capacity. England are due to face Sri Lanka in 2016, West Indies in 2017, India in 2018 and Pakistan in 2019 at the ground. In addition, four matches will be played at the ground as part of the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

The ground has long boundaries in comparison to most county cricket clubs.

The former concrete roof over the public terraces, which has now been demolished, was formed from eight hyperbolic-paraboloid umbrellas each approximately 30 ft square, designed by T.H.B. Burrough in 1960.^[2]

Redevelopment

In July 2009, Gloucestershire C.C.C. announced plans to redevelop the ground into a 20,000-capacity stadium, with an aim to retaining one day international status.^[3][4] The ground now includes a world class media centre and conference facilities. To help fund the project, student accommodation is included in the development. In March 2010, Bristol City Council gave the go-ahead for the new ground.^[5]

The following year, the club revised its plans due to concerns from residents on the adjacent Kennington Avenue over permanent stands at the boundary of their property. The permanent capacity will now be raised to 7500 (8000 including the semi-permanent Hammond Roof) with temporary seating increasing capacity to 17,500,^[6] but with other changes still implemented: new pavilion, new conference facilities and the construction of new stands (including the demolition of the Jessop stand and Tavern and the rebuilding of the Mound stand to a fixed capacity of 4500) and 147 apartments in three blocks. These plans were approved on 31 May 2012 and development began in October 2012. The Bristol Pavilion opened in August 2013.^[7] Permanent floodlights were approved by Bristol City Council in April 2015, which were installed ready for the start of the 2016 season and which will allow the club to continue to host international matches as well as the four 2019 Cricket World Cup matches it has been allocated.^[8]

Transport Connections

Montpelier railway station is under a mile from the ground. Main line stations Bristol Temple Meads railway station and Bristol Parkway railway station are 2.5 miles and 3.8 miles, respectively, from the ground. Former station Ashley Hill railway station was situated outside the ground but was closed in 1964. There are plans to reopen the station as part of the Greater Bristol Metro proposals.

See also

• List of cricket grounds in England and Wales

References

Coordinates: 51°28′38.01″N 2°35′02.96″W / 51.4772250°N 2.5841556°W / 51.4772250; -2.5841556