Upgraded Bristol ready to shine on international stage

A £3.3m refurbishment of Gloucestershire's Seat Unique Stadium has "future-proofed elite cricket in Bristol for decades", according to chief executive Neil Priscott.

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club's new development includes a new changing room complex and improved facilities for players, staff and officials.

"This was an important project for three main reasons," Priscott told BBC Points West.

"We want to create an elite sporting environment for our players so they can train, prepare, and play in the best possible conditions.

"Secondly, we want to create somewhere equitable for our women, and we have created something here that our men's and women's team can thrive in and very much enjoy their own spaces.

"Thirdly, we want to make sure that Bristol can continue to host the very biggest international cricket matches."

The new infrastructure is based around four international-standard dressing rooms, allowing the site to host double-header fixtures.

There has also been an expansion of the Player and Match Officials Area (PMOA), with new toilets, showers, and ice baths and enhanced facilities for physios, sports science and medical teams.

Now, the ground and its new facilities are ready to go on show to the world, with four Women's T20 World Cup fixtures set to be played at the venue later this month.

"Our aim is to knock the Women's World Cup out of the park, showcase Bristol as a brilliant event host city," said Priscott.

"In 2030, the Men's T20 World Cup comes to this country and we want to ensure that Bristol is hosting matches in that tournament as well, so I am glad we can start here.

"The space we have had to create inside has taken time, but we are really proud of it."

The new surroundings have already impressed the women's national side, who got their first look during their 26-run win over India last month.

"The players were amazed," said Gloucestershire Women's captain Fran Wilson.

"They said 'you guys are really lucky'. The club has done some really cool stuff over the winter, and it is really going in the right direction, so it has been good to get some feedback.

"They see grounds around the world so they have a good marker on when they see a good facility.

"The space is looking amazing and we are going to see some really good cricket being played here."

Before the changes, Bristol had a long-term staging agreement in place until 2031, but Priscott knew the venue had fallen behind other grounds in the country.

If a venue wants to welcome international cricket, it needs to be compliant with England regulations, and Bristol wasn't.

"The dressing rooms were the start, but it is much more than that if you want to host international matches," he said.

"We needed coach space, physio space, and match official space. Lots of space that we just did not have with the old setup.

"We needed to think about things we would normally consider in order to be able to host double-headers - anti-corruption unit, trauma room, men officiating in women's games and vice versa, men coaching in the women's environment and vice versa.

"I think we are now one of the best leading clubs in the country for those player facilities and that's exactly where we want to be."

Gloucestershire are not currently part of Tier 1 in the domestic structure of the women's game, but this upgrade - the biggest the club has undertaken since it updated its Pavilion End in 2013 - is a sign of its intentions moving forward.

"We want to be Tier 1 ready. As soon as the opportunity comes up we want to be ready to go," said Wilson.

"The girls now have a home, a locker, somewhere to keep their things and just have a chat. When I was playing, it used to be nomadic, living out of your car.

"It's cool to be able to bring people in and show them what we have got, that this could be their home home, this is us. Somewhere to put up our culture, our values, things that are important to the team as well.

"When we have double-headers with the guys we can watch the games together on the balcony. It really helps grow the community feel that we all have around the club.

"We are building something much bigger than results on the pitch."