WORCESTERSHIRE CCC chief executive Ashley Giles insists the Pears will play their first home match of the 2025 County Championship season at New Road.
The club moved their opening two home fixtures of the previous season to Kidderminster following a string of floods at New Road in the off season.
Worcestershire considered leaving New Road last year but are now seeking an alternative ground to use should any future floods cause prolonged damage to their current home.
Giles confirmed putting flood barriers in place ‘is neither feasible nor sustainable’ meaning finding an additional venue to play home matches is essential in protecting the club’s long term future.
The Pears host Durham in their first home fixture of the 2025 campaign on April 25.
Giles said via a statement: “I am delighted to confirm that, unless we experience further flood events at New Road between now and our opening home fixture on April 25, we will begin the season at our iconic city-centre location.
“In April 2024, the Worcestershire County Cricket Club Board issued a statement outlining the serious challenges we face as a club, driven by unprecedented flooding that threatens not only the sustainability of New Road but also the long-term future of Worcestershire County Cricket Club.
“We have engaged subject matter experts and liaised with local and national agencies to explore every possible option.
“This work has focused on two key areas: first, what options exist to mitigate or prevent flooding at New Road, including potential redevelopment, and second, what alternatives may be available should we need to consider an additional venue to protect the club’s future.
“While our investigations into an additional venue remain ongoing, we continue to work closely with an internationally respected company to assess the critical questions of what, where, how, and when regarding seeking an additional venue for the club, for use alongside New Road.
“Our analysis has focused on two possible approaches: learning to live with the water, as we have done for many years, or attempting to stop it altogether.
“Alarmingly, 19 of the 30 worst floods recorded since 1899 have occurred within the last 25 years, and the situation continues to deteriorate.
“The financial impact is considerable, spanning flood clean-up costs, match relocations to venues such as Kidderminster, lost revenue from food and beverage sales, and the broader commercial impact of diminished venue confidence.
“Furthermore, as New Road is designated a functional floodplain, redevelopment is subject to significant restrictions under local and national policies. This makes securing investment in major improvements increasingly challenging.
“Our playing and practice facilities are facing long-term deterioration due to ongoing flooding. Expert assessments indicate that all pitches require complete reconstruction, a process that could take up to a decade to finish. Even with such efforts, the long-term quality of our playing surface will remain jeopardised by continued flood events.
“While we have successfully adapted to flooding for many years, it is becoming increasingly unmanageable. Each season, we face greater disruption to cricket, significant financial strain, and mounting barriers to investment in our facilities.
“We have also explored the possibility of entirely preventing flooding at New Road, including the feasibility of constructing a flood defence system, such as a wall or embankment.
“However, expert analysis has identified numerous challenges. A protective structure of the required scale, likely at least 3.7 metres high, would incur an estimated cost of between £5 million and £20 million, with the likelihood of costs exceeding the upper estimate.
“Even if funding were secured, access to the site during floods would remain problematic, particularly in ensuring compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). The remaining ground would still require substantial redevelopment, utilities may need to be raised, and there would be a significant risk of structural failure under extreme conditions.
“Given these findings, engineering a solution to prevent flooding is neither feasible nor sustainable. New Road will continue to experience recurring flood events, and despite our best efforts, we are unable to alter our circumstances significantly.
“The outcome of these studies only reinforces the importance of securing an additional venue.
“While New Road remains central to our identity, it is essential that we have a sustainable, long-term solution to protect the club’s future.”
