Gloucestershire County Cricket Club has secured the rights to host world cup matches at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol in 2026. Following our longstanding partnership with the club, gcp is now working on the essential improvements needed to meet current ECB standards.

Building on a Strong Partnership

Our partnership with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club spans several years, and in conjunction with work at other county grounds and a breadth of experience in developing grassroots cricketing facilities, we've established a thorough understanding of ECB standards for international cricket venues. This experience positions us well to deliver the improvements needed for 2026.

Essential Improvements

The essential improvement work focuses on key areas required to satisfy international cricket standards, with a particular emphasis on player’s facilities including:

Extension and renovation of existing player dressing rooms including a mezzanine extension over the Cricket Centre
A new external player’s terrace and player’s bridge
Extended umpire and match official facilities
Renovated and extended ground floor dressings room provisions to accommodate improved public changing facilities and T20 double headers for club and international cricket
Moveable partitions to the Jessop Bar providing flexible spaces for hospitality and player’s dining.

Project Timeline

With international world cup matches scheduled for June 2026, the timeline is challenging. The works were tendered during summer 2025, with construction beginning in October 2025 with Raise Projects. This schedule ensures the facilities will be ready for the 2026 international fixtures.

We are thrilled to announce that planning has been approved by Bristol City Council for the approval of amendments to the external façade of the player & match official area and Gloucestershire County Cricket Club have issued their own announcement on the works.

Continuing Our Cricket Expertise

This project builds on gcp's established experience in developing cricket facilities. We continue to work closely with the England and Wales Cricket Board on Design Guidance Notes, with our most recent contribution focusing on Covered Outdoor Practice Facilities, more commonly referred to as Cricket Domes, announced here by the ECB.

The work with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club represents another step in our ongoing commitment to improving cricket infrastructure across the country.

Over the last 18 months, gcp Chartered Architects have led an extensive team of consultants, alongside the England & Wales Cricket Board, to produce a design guidance note for ‘Covered Outdoor Cricket Facilities’. The process involved a significant amount of technical rigour and research, including: consultation across ECB departments, conversations with various other national governing bodies and manufacturer and supplier meetings. All of this to achieve an ‘inside out’ approach offering a valuable new opportunity for those wanting to provide cricket training and playing facilities year-round.

The project began with a team meeting at the ECB’s Covered Outdoor Cricket Facility pilot scheme, Bradford Park Avenue. The meeting allowed the team to analyse the pilot facility in depth, established what was working well and what might need clarification as a part of the technical design guidance. gcp were also commissioned to undertake a photographic study of the facility as a part of the research phase.

Following the Bradford meeting, gcp embarked upon the wider research phase, initially meeting with:

Manufacturers, and suppliers of netting, surfacing, structures, canvasses and even bowling machines!
National governing bodies for other sports
Regional cricket clubs
A team of specialist subconsultants which included a civil and structural engineer, an MEP consultant, an accessibility consultant, an acoustician and a building regulations consultant.

***Single Lane General Arrangement Plan***

Through close collaboration with the ECB Facilities Services team, gcp proceeded to the design and written phase of the project, with each consultant feeding in their own contributions, comments, and expertise along the way.

The evolved document underwent extensive in-house review from both gcp and the ECB before being released as a culmination of approximately 18-months’ work, including input from dozens of different experts and professionals.

This project is the latest in an ongoing 15-year working relationship between gcp and the ECB, where we have provided architectural and wide ranging consultancy services. We’re extremely proud of the continued relationship with such a prestigious sporting national governing body. We’re also very grateful to the ECB for their continued support. Projects like this are only ever made possible with mutual trust, collaboration, and dedication.