No place like dome

The first ever cricket dome opened in Bradford in 2023. Its success led to the ECB committing to building 40 more around the country. SportsNation spoke to Dr. Iain James, ECB’s Head of Facilities Services, to discover how the innovative and inclusive facilities could transform grassroots and community cricket

When we opened the new dome, no one could have imagined just how successful it would be,” says Nasa Hussain, Facilities Manager and Head Groundskeeper at Bradford Park Avenue. He is describing the UK’s first ever “all-weather cricket dome”, which opened in late 2023. “It’s a brilliant facility used by both the community and professional teams – and the impact has been massive.”

The facility – the first of its kind in the country – was funded by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in partnership with City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. In its first year alone, it welcomed more than 20,000 players. From high-profile players – such as Shan Masood and Adil Rashid – and teams like the Northern Superchargers to over-50s Sunday players and school children, it has accommodated cricketers of all abilities, ages and backgrounds.

“It’s given everyone an opportunity to play cricket all year round, instead of just the traditional April to September timeframe,” Hussain adds.

Going indoors

The facility at Bradford Park Avenue Cricket Club features two 40mx20m covered domes with a state-of-the-art lighting system, elite cricket surface and a retractable netting system enabling both training and matchplay. The 10-lane set up provides organisations the chance to increase usage levels of a typical outdoor non-turf facility without the prohibitive costs. The facility – a joint project between two SAPCA members, Total-Play and Fordingbridge – has received a prestigious industry accolade, being declared the winner of the SAPCA Award for Large Project of the Year in 2025.

The success of the venue led to the ECB committing to an investment programme which will see similar facilities being built across the country. The second, in Darwen, Lancashire, opened in September 2025. Featuring three full-length lanes and the ability to be used for match play, the facility was developed by Darwen Cricket Club and Lancashire Cricket Foundation, who will work together to deliver cricket programmes in partnership with more than 13 state schools in the local area.

A further dome in Willenhall, West Midlands, is now also nearing completion. In addition, the Government recently announced £1.5m to contribute towards a further two of the facilities in Luton and Farington, Lancashire which are expected to open later this year (2026). The domes have been designed to make the most of cricket’s diverse reach, opening up sport to people of all backgrounds as part of the Government’s Plan for Change. The Luton dome, for example, will give underrepresented groups, such as state schools, much-needed access to cricket, with the potential to offer other sports – such as hockey, tennis and badminton – so that as many local people as possible have the chance to get active. Ultimately, the ECB hopes that the domes will help to smooth the road from grassroots to the top of the game, so that boys and girls of all backgrounds can be inspired and have a clear route to emulating their heroes.

Places

We have seen communities from different cultures and faiths come together to celebrate cricket

SportsNation spoke to Dr. Iain James, ECB’s Head of Facilities Services, to find out more about the plans for the domes in 2026 and beyond.

Where did the idea for the domes, or covered outdoor cricket facilities, come from? The ECB’s vision is to make cricket the most inclusive team sport in England and Wales. To do this we want to increase the opportunities to take part in cricket and creating facilities that are accessible to people is critical. Cricket domes can play a key part in that because they create unique opportunities to play cricket into the evening, year-round. Their format allows practice and match play under floodlights, in a safe environment that is affordable to operate, helping to keep the cost of access as low as possible.

The cricket dome concept is something that we have been looking at for more than 20 years, but the combination of modern structures and LED lighting have really unlocked solutions that now mean we have the right facility to increase access to cricket.

What is the latest with the three sites set to open 2026? We are really excited that the third dome at Willenhall will bring this opportunity to Walsall and the West Midlands and expect that to be opening this spring.

The Luton dome is already in construction with Total-Play already making great progress on site. We are expecting this seven-lane facility, the largest single dome span so far, to be ready at the end of the 2026 cricket season in time for winter training and play.

The Farington dome will be constructed at Lancashire’s amazing new community facility. Funded by the Department for Culture Media and Sport, Sport England and the ECB – this will be the first facility to be constructed following the pilot scheme. The competitive tender is just reaching its conclusion, and we are hoping to break ground this summer.

ECB Chief Executive, Richard Thompson, said that the long-term ambition is to build 40 domes “as soon as we can”. Can we expect more site announcements this year? That was a long-term ambition and these projects take time to progress, particularly when the collaborative funding model with local authorities is such an important part.

To be the most inclusive team sport in England and Wales we need to be ambitious and we are working with our county network, with government and with the private sector to identify and fund new opportunities.

With the sale of The Hundred teams, we have been able to create a fund for new facilities in the recreational game in cricket – this will enable the game to partner with other funders to deliver new dome projects, and more.

How transformative do you see the domes being for grassroots cricket? Our pilot cricket domes are already transforming access to cricket in the clubs and communities in which they have been built. We have seen juniors, grass roots and professional players using domes for net-based training and coaching. Domes have been used for junior open coaching sessions where kids can engage with cricket for the first time. There have been tape-ball competitions, ‘indoor-cricket’ leagues, women-only sessions and Walking Cricket in which people can come and meet through sport.

Demand is high and we have seen people travelling a long way to use the facilities. We have seen communities from different cultures and faiths come together to celebrate cricket. We have seen cricket played after breaking fast during Ramadan and as the snow is falling outside.

And it is not just for cricket – fundamentally a cricket dome is a well-ventilated, covered, lit sports environment surrounded by a net that keeps balls and other equipment contained – this makes the facility ideal for cricket, but also for other sports that can use that space safely and we are actively exploring the multi-sport options with other governing bodies.

How much investment have you earmarked for the domes? The ECB has provided around £5m to deliver the pilot scheme of the initial domes working with partners including local authorities, Sport England, DCMS and individual clubs. We will continue to support investment in the right projects for cricket.

We are working hard to bring partners with us to fund, including from professional cricket,

Places

DCMS and Sport England. We were delighted when Lisa Nandy, Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport announced £1.5m of government funding to support the Luton and Farrington dome projects and we are currently working with DCMS and Sport England to see how we can partner to expand this to create new project opportunities.

If a cricket club/facility owner wants to explore the possibility of building a dome, what should they do? We would love to hear from anyone looking to develop a cricket dome project – we have produced a guide, Covered Outdoor Cricket Facilities – Developing Your Project, for people and organisations considering projects of this type – it is available on our website at [www.ecb.co.uk/cocf](http://www.ecb.co.uk/cocf)

This guide provides all the key information, including contact details for our Regional Facility Planning Managers who will work with organisations to identify and support the development of dome projects. For more information visit [www.ecb.co.uk/cocf](http://www.ecb.co.uk/cocf) or email [facilities@ecb.co.uk.](mailto:facilities@ecb.co.uk)

Each site, layout, size and configuration is different, of course, but what is the rough estimate on the cost of a dome? Costs do vary with size and location, and the proximity of ancillary facilities such as changing and toilets on site – but we have been working to budget figures of £200,000 – 300,000 per lane.

We want to create safe, durable facilities that make a generational change for cricket in a community

We want to keep the costs of development as low as possible but we also want to create safe, durable facilities that make a generational change for cricket in a community.

To support development of cricket domes we have produced standards and guidance that help designer and developers to create great facilities, and outlines what we expect to see in new projects – Covered Outdoor Cricket Facilities – Design Guide is available on our website at [www.ecb.co.uk/cocf](http://www.ecb.co.uk/cocf)

How does the procurement process work? Is each project procured separately? Now that we have successfully completed the pilot phase, procurement processes will depend on each project and who is funding the project. Of course, a competitive tender process is the norm for public sector and ECB funding but we are comfortable with traditional, design and build and turnkey procurement routes as long as the process and outcome deliver the right facility for the client in the right way. As we scale up, we may well explore a ‘pre-approved contractor’ or contractor framework process to improve efficiency.