Rose Bowl Gets Name Change
Hampshire County Cricket Club has announced a new naming rights deal with insurance company, Ageas, for the Rose Bowl ground – which will now become known as the Ageas Bowl.
The South-coast ground staged Test cricket for the first time last summer, hosting England versus Sri Lanka in June.
It has also been Hampshire’s headquarters since 2001, and in December, Eastleigh Borough Council voted in favour of buying the facility – at a cost of £6.5m – and renting it back to the cricket club.
The council also plans to spend £32m on a hotel at the venue, which had been delayed after a legal challenge by a group of local hoteliers.
The group appealed after an initial bid for a judicial review was thrown out in March 2010, but came to an agreement in June 2010 and withdrew their challenge.
