At the Club's Annual General Meeting next month, Hampshire County Cricket Club will be reporting an Operating Loss for the Year Ending 31 October 2000 of £193,075. This figure, the first Operating Loss since 1986, does not include the costs of moving to The Hampshire Rose Bowl last October.

A substantial Loss had always been anticipated and this increased when the compensation from ECB for Alan Mullally proved to be much less than budgeted. Shane Warne made himself available for Hampshire for more matches than expected and this also added to the Club's expenditure.

In spite of the high Playing Costs, there were many disappointing performances on the playing field. This, together with some appalling weather and not a single home match in the NatWest Trophy in spite of reaching the semi-final, all had an adverse effect on many income streams but particularly on the Catering figures.

The Club feels optimistic for the future, with cricket expecting a major uplift from the performances of the national team. The move to a new ground gives the Club great scope for development, even though there is still much to be done before all the facilities are in place.

Speaking at a press conference today, Rod Bransgrove, Hampshire's new chairman reiterated the fact that a number of factors led to these figures, and joked about the fact that Shane Warne's keenness to play in every available match for the county, although very pleasant did also increase the expenditure. "He even got off a plane at 6.00am to rush down in time to start a match at Canterbury." said Bransgrove.

© Hants CCC