How Surrey are bucking trend for declining crowds at county matches

Times

17 hours ago

In a cricket context, a significant development has been happening in south London. At a time when crowds for domestic first-class cricket have been dwindling worldwide, Surrey are bucking the trend. Their past two home games, against Yorkshire and Essex, have each broken the record for championship crowds at the Oval in the 21st century, a culmination of a determined effort throughout the club to promote the county game.
The visit of Durham (a Sunday to Wednesday fixture) is Surrey's fifth home Championship fixture and their last until September 8. During the course of this week's match, it is likely the club will break the attendance figures this year for the whole of last season, even though there will still be two home games to play. It fits a pattern of rising interest and attendances in first-class cricket and rising membership, at a time of decline or stagnation elsewhere.
Some numbers, first of all. Over the past decade, Surrey's attendances for championship cricket have doubled, from 33,121 in 2015 to 65,433 last year. This year's average attendance has been 13,206 per game, with a peak of 14,982 against Essex. Total attendance so far in 2025 has been 52,825, so an average gate against Durham should see them past last year's figure. Membership has risen from a little under 10,000 a decade ago to more than 20,000 now. It is worth exploring why.
No one would doubt that Surrey have some enviable advantages through a long-term staging agreement with the ECB and a ground that has benefited from significant investment, in one of the great capital cities of the world, sitting on the edge of a wealthy financial district. It would be easy for them to sit on their laurels and yet there has been a concerted effort to promote the less obviously marketable aspects of the county game, to see county members not as a problem to be solved but as their best customers, and to align a successful four-day team with a distinct marketing push.
Oli Slipper, the chairman, credits the work of Richard Gould, formerly the chief executive of Surrey now at the ECB, and Richard Thompson, his predecessor as chairman, for their determination not to see county and championship cricket left behind after the introduction of the Hundred. He makes the point that Test cricket remains by far the biggest driver of ECB revenues, and therefore a vibrant championship, as a bedrock for that, is essential.
He has no truck with the divisive narrative around county or franchise, red ball or white ball, recognising instead the potential for a virtuous circle, with audiences and interest from one feeding into the other. 'So many people have almost given up on red-ball cricket, because it is difficult, but we see a vibrant red-ball crowd and many white-ball fans converting. We see a good audience there,' he tells me.
Their marketing of the championship has involved various recent initiatives, at no great extra financial cost. The Essex game was a designated 'Festival of Red Ball Cricket' match, the second year such an initiative has been held. More than 3,000 of the almost 15,000-strong crowd in that fixture were first-time visitors to the club, and 40 per cent were under 45. Every championship match offers free entry after tea, the club allow spectators to play cricket and wander the outfield in the breaks, and to watch a Test-class team (when at full strength) on the field, they charge only £15 per adult per day and £1 for under-16s — great value when set against the cost of international tickets.
Andrew Lane, the finance director, points me to the flexibility of various membership models. Previously, the club found a significant drop-off after the affordable under-16 rate finished, so now they offer a 16-21 membership for £73. For £144, there is a 22-25 age bracket membership, which guarantees entry to every Surrey match and the Hundred for the short-of-money, post-university, just-moved-to-London crowd. Eventually, they hope to transition these to a full membership at £270.
Lane is convinced that the quality of the free broadcast stream (viewing figures for the championship this year for home matches are already double that of last year) is an important factor in the rise of championship crowds. Now, the four-day game is easy to follow and watch day-to-day, which allows the narrative to build and supporters to engage with it, encouraging many to pop in during or after work, especially on Fridays. The settled Friday to Monday starts for the early championship programme combined with this year's good weather has been a significant factor.
It means that, for Surrey, the championship more than pays its way. Lane says that putting membership receipts to one side and accounting simply for takings at the ticket office, bars, restaurants and shop, then over the course of seven home championship games, match-day receipts should exceed costs by about £300,000. For Surrey at least, four-day cricket is not a loss-leader, but an essential part of their offering.
All this is one reason why the club is against a reduction in championship cricket from 14 matches. A domestic schedule review is under way, with various options under consideration amid a strong push from the Professional Cricketers Association and many counties to reduce the red-ball programme. Recommendations, if and when agreed by the 18 counties, are set to be approved by the Professional Game Committee on July 8 and ratified by the ECB at the end of the month.
There are five convoluted options on the table, all of which — bar one — would mean the championship programme is cut to 12 (or 13) matches. Surrey's preference would be an elite eight-team top division and a ten-team second division, with 14 matches, as of now. Given there is broad agreement across the county game to reduce the T20 Blast to ten or twelve games (but scheduled on better nights of the week to sell) Surrey's vision for a 14-match championship programme should still be feasible.
Behind Surrey's rise on the field has been Alec Stewart, no longer the club's full-time director of cricket but still the most influential cricketing voice there. As one of England's finest players, the DOC behind Surrey's three-timer in the championship, and the man responsible for the production line of England talent from the club, his views should carry weight.
He sees a clear delineation between the championship as an elite cricket competition — there to promote best versus best and to help produce England players — and the more commercial offering of the Blast and other short-form competitions. He reckons 14 games is a bulwark against rain and one-innings matches and if scheduled right should be both a good competition to watch and one that provides a thorough grounding to help produce England players.
I stand to be corrected, but I cannot believe there is anywhere else in the world that would have doubled their four-day, red-ball support over the past decade. Those who see Surrey as an outlier, with unique advantages, are right to some degree, but there are also lessons to be learnt: they see county cricket as a growth business not a declining one; they see members as an asset, not a problem; there is a 'whole' club determination to push the county game and they have built a brilliant stadium and team. It is a template that is working.