ECB: “Build it and they will come” – Inside the first year of the UK’s first all-weather cricket dome

Nasa Hussain, Facilities Manager and Head Groundskeeper at Bradford Park Avenue, reflects on an exciting 12 months of action at the UK’s first ever all-weather cricket dome.

When we opened the new dome a year ago, no one could have imagined just how successful it’s been. It’s a brilliant, state-of-the-art netting facility used by both the community and professional teams – and the impact has been massive.

It’s given everyone an opportunity to play cricket all year round, instead of just the traditional April to September timeframe. We’re so privileged to be able to continue playing outdoors throughout the winter, even if it does get a bit cold sometimes.

Since we opened, approximately 20,000 people have played here. Some are netting with their club, some are netting with their mates, and some are just having one-to-ones. We’ve had high-profile players like Shan Masood and Adil Rashid, and teams like the Northern Superchargers, come for a net. But the most enjoyable ones are when a grandad brings his grandchild.

We deliberately only charge a minimal cost to make sure it’s accessible to all. Everyone’s welcome. The love of cricket is what brings people here. It doesn’t matter what colour they are, what gender they are, what nationality they are, it’s the love of cricket that’s the common thread. Some people just turn up by themselves and ask if they can join in for a net. Our response is always the same: “Of course you can.”

It’s creating its own community where cricket is the main runner. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what your skillset is, you’re more than welcome to come and play. That inclusivity is key, and we’ve got a lot of female cricket happening here, including Bradford Park Avenue Ladies, other local ladies’ teams, and even the ECB’s national women’s tape ball competition.

I spend half my life here, so I’ve a lot of memories of this place already. The best one was when 20 different Sikh temples came here for a full day of cricket. Everyone here that day wanted to know why they didn’t have a dome just like this in their own town.

When you look at cricket in Bradford as a whole, the Sunday leagues have 60 teams, made up of two leagues of 30+ teams. That tells you about the passion for the game and the numbers we have, without including the Saturday leagues and the semi-professional cricket. Cricket’s a massive sport here. Having this venue and making it accessible was a no brainer. It’s completely taken things to the next level.

My own role has changed, too. I’m a head groundsman, so winter used to be about me claiming my hours back. Now I’m doing more hours in the winter than I am in the summer. I enjoy it. I like to see what’s going on and see the community enjoying cricket. My role is just to facilitate, be here, help, and make sure everything works out right.

And while the old ground was riddled with vandalism, I can say hand-on-heart that I’ve had no problems for the last 18 months. It’s a massive and expensive facility, but because we’ve given ownership to the community, they’re using it and local people are seeing what’s on their doorstep.