Shorts: Ineos Grenadiers, Lancashire Cricket, Saracens

The INEOS Grenadiers Cycling Team has agreed a new partnership with sports memorabilia business MatchWornShirt.

As per the new deal, MatchWornShirt will host online auctions for the worn and signed jerseys of the INEOS Grenadiers every time the cycling team competes in a Grand Tour or Monument race. Fans will also be able to place bids on the team’s race bikes, which will be made available at the end of the cycling season.

All cycling jerseys will be fitted with Fabricks, a technology that guarantees and protects the identity of a jersey by providing its owner with a personal digital certificate of authenticity.
 
Tijmen Zonderwijk, Co-Founder of MatchWornShirt, commented, “The INEOS Grenadiers have created some of the most unforgettable moments in modern cycling. From now on, their fans will have the opportunity to own such moments through our exclusive auctions for the team’s memorabilia.”
 
John Allert, CEO of the INEOS Grenadiers, commented, “Great sporting moments can stay with us forever, weaving through our lives from childhood into adulthood, and providing life-long memories. Cycling fans are some of the most dedicated out there, lining roads in all weather across all terrains, and we know they love to feel close to the sport and the special moments it creates.

“So working with MatchWornShirt is perfect as they are industry leaders in what they do, and we want to give our fans the opportunity to treasure a piece of the INEOS Grenadier’s history.”

Lancashire Cricket has announced an operating profit of £5.3m – after exceptional items – for the year ended 31st December 2023.

In the accounting period, the club generated record revenues of £36.5m – a 25% increase on 2022.

Emirates Old Trafford hosted two major men’s internationals last year, a men’s Ashes Test Match and IT20 against New Zealand, with both matches selling out in advance.

The on-site Hilton Garden Inn hotel recorded revenues of £6.5m, whilst Emirates Old Trafford’s conference and events business contributed £4.1m in revenue. The venue also hosted two sold out nights of the Arctic Monkeys with over 100,000 in attendance.

The club’s borrowings stand at £32.2m, which includes £8.5m of additional funding required for the 2023 hotel extension.

It was also recently confirmed that Lancashire Cricket was successful in its tender process for a Tier One women’s domestic team. It means the club will now take full ownership of the Lancashire Thunder side that will compete in Tier One T20 and 50-over competitions from 2025, throughout the initial four-season term.

Nottingham Forest FC and Nottinghamshire County Council have signed a new agreement to ‘strengthen ties’ between the Premier League football club and the local council.

Known as a memorandum of understanding (MOU), the agreement sets out how the two organisations can ‘work more closely to further benefit local communities and boost the economy.’

In a statement the council described Forest’s ambitions to ‘deliver new training and stadium infrastructure’ and ‘promote sport’s educational and health benefits’ as linking to its priorities to find more ways to support the health and well-being of Nottinghamshire families and residents.

Nottingham Forest Chairman, Tom Cartledge, said, “The recent launch of our new Vision for Sport in Nottinghamshire has brought us closer to colleagues at the County Council. It is therefore excellent that we can now formalise our working relationship with them to explore opportunities for everyone to enjoy the growth of sport across the county.”

Rugby union club Saracens has appointed strategy and technology consultancy PTI to design and develop a new ‘data and digital technology ecosystem.’

The project will aim to help the reigning English Premiership champions ‘drive operational efficiencies, create new revenue-generating opportunities and improve customer experiences.’

As per the agreement, PTI will initially analyse and audit Saracens’ entire data technology estate, identifying the needs of all key business functions, before creating a new roadmap for a technology ecosystem that supports the club’s ‘wider strategic commercial and operational objectives.’

Mark Thompson, CEO of Saracens, commented, “There is huge scope for our business to leverage technology and data better. A granular understanding of the behaviours and attitudes of our audiences will result in deeper digital engagement, further enhance the matchday experience for fans at StoneX Stadium and allow employees quicker access to better data to drive decision-making.

“This will provide huge value for us and our partners. PTI have a strong track record of supporting leading rights-holders to do exactly this.”