The newly-appointed Stuart Cain hopes between 5,000 and 8,000 can attend the showcase event on the English domestic cricket calendar on October 3
T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston could yet be played in front of supporters.
The four-team, three-match 20-over shootout is the blue-riband event on the English domestic calendar and all available tickets for the event were sold 11 months in advance.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic means fans, bar test events at The Kia Oval and Edgbaston - have been kept away from cricket during the 2020 summer and the idea of a full ground come the finale of the competition on October 3 is currently unforeseeable.
The ECB continue to work with the government towards a possible return for supporters in October, however, and officials at Edgbaston, which is braced to host Finals Days for the eighth straight year, remain hopeful the 25,000 capacity ground could be at least partially filled for the semi-finals and final.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to provide an update regarding the further easing of lockdown restrictions this week. The last update saw the pilot scheme for allowing fans back into venues postponed after Edgbaston hosted more than 800 members for the pre-season match with Worcestershire.
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New Warwickshire chief-executive Stuart Cain, formally of Wasps Rugby Club, is optimistic the club will be allowed to welcome supporters come the start of October but admits the decision is out of their hands.
Depending on the Sports Grounds Saftey Authority (SGSA) guidelines which will come out of DCMS we think that between 5,000 and 8,000 (could attend)," he told the media less than two weeks into his tenure.
"At two metres social distancing, two seats between each person it's five, if it's one-and-a-half meters it's about eight.
"We proved already that Edgbaston can host a test pilot. We had the sports minister (Nigel Huddleston) down and he was quite complimentary about what we've done. We've proved to the sporting world and the local authorities that we can do it."
Currently, ticket-holders can roll their tickets over for 2021 or apply for a refund. If fans are permitted to attend Finals Day, it will be treated as a separate event and passes will be sold accordingly.
Edgbaston was part of the pilot scheme to get fans back into stadia - until it was cut-short
If permitted, Cain would like a socially-distanced T20 test event before Finals Day for any of the Birmingham Bears' five Blast home matches. While hosting fans can be easily controlled, how toilets and concessions are accessed remains a challenge.
"We'd love to do it and the Blast would be a brilliant test event and probably one of the bigger events before you start getting into football," he added.
"By October 1 they want 30 per cent in football grounds. If you're suddenly going to try and get 20,000 into Old Trafford and you've only had a couple of thousand at Edgbaston and The Oval, that is a pretty big jump from what they wanted to do a couple of weeks ago. The Blast might be a middle ground and then you look at how you get large crowds in from different areas."
The highly-experienced CEO, who has occupied roles at Wolves and Rangers football clubs, UK Athletics, and with the Rugby League World Cup 2021 organising group, added: "I don't want people to get out of the habit of watching cricket live. If you do something for a year you find other things to fill your time. The idea of having a small crowd in with help the players, look good on TV and keep people watching live cricket."
Despite having revenue from six days of international cricket, The Hundred, the Blast, and their conference and events business removed from their balance sheet for 2019-20, Warwickshire are hopeful they can financially survive in a COVID world. Cricket budgets will not be affected, though cost-cutting measures regarding travel and kit will be looked at.
A share of handouts from the ECB totalling £96.7 million, the donation of members fees, the roll-over of between 30%-40% of international tickets until 2021 and support from Birmingham City Council means their annual accounts, while not at the record-breaking levels of 2018-19 (£26.6m turnover, £6.2m pre-tax profit), are manageable. But the problems could come in 2021.
The delay of The Hundred is among the consequences of the pandemic
"2021 will be the big one," admitted Cain. "If we haven't got crowds in by this time next year there is a bigger existential issue for sports generally.
"Every club can get through this season, with some pain, but we'll survive. When you start to get into next year it becomes a bigger issue for sport. It is something we'll have to start addressing March/April time."
Among the casualties from the 2020 calendar was the inaugural season of The Hundred, with Edgbaston having been identified to host Birmingham Phoenix. The 100-ball competition has been introduced to bring fresh eyes to cricket, but Cain admits the tournament is simply untenable behind closed doors.
"There is an ambition to launch The Hundred and launch it well," he said. "But you need crowds to do that. If the Blast is about the crowds then The Hundred has got to be even more about the crowd because it is short, sharp high-octane cricket.
"To launch a new concept, you've got to launch it properly. Because if you launch it wrong you'll never get it right. That is an interesting challenge we have to go through with the ECB."
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