Yorkshire CCC announce £2M 2010 deficit

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The Yorkshire County Cricket Club will inform its members at the AGM on Saturday 19 March 2011 that in 2010 it generated a turnover of £5.6m and a pre-tax deficit of £2.0m.

Despite the One-Day International in September being a sell-out, and the Yorkshire team having a successful season on the pitch, the low level of ticket sales for the MCC Spirit of Cricket Test Match between Pakistan and Australia resulted in a loss that the Club could not turn around.

The Club is extremely disappointed with the low turnout at the Test Match, where less than 25% of the ground's 16,000 seats were sold.

Yorkshire chairman, Colin Graves, said: "The neutral Test Match in July between Pakistan and Australia was an operational success which provided much relevant learning for the game in staging such neutral matches in this country, but nevertheless created some significant financial challenges for the Club which we had to take appropriate actions to remedy."

Non Test Match related income and expenditure were broadly in line with budget, and advance sales of tickets and hospitality packages for the 2nd NatWest One-Day International between England and Sri Lanka which is being held on 1 July, are comfortably exceeding expectations following England's Ashes success this winter. On the back of an excellent season on the pitch for Yorkshire in 2010, membership numbers for the 2011 season are also very positive and are currently running ahead of the same time last year.

2011 will be a tough year for the Club, with only one day of international cricket, and a deficit is budgeted for, although substantially lower than the one recorded in 2010. However, the return of a full schedule of England Test Match and One-Day International each year from 2012 to 2019 inclusive will bring the Club back into sustained profitability from 2012 onwards.

The Club had a number of positive results in 2010, with the Club ending the season third in the County Championship, and semi-finalists in the 40-over League. In addition, the new Carnegie Pavilion was opened in July. At a cost of £21m, funded with the support of both Leeds Metropolitan University and Yorkshire Forward, the Pavilion features state-of-the-art media facilities and a new upper tier of exclusive seats and hospitality facilities. The building is being operated in partnership with Leeds Metropolitan University and is already housing some 800 students during term time, studying Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management as well as Digital Journalism.

The Club is looking forward to a successful season on and off the field in 2011, with Yorkshire's LV= County Championship campaign starting on 8 April against Worcestershire at New Road, Worcester.