Lancashire report 'best-ever' £7.6m operating profit for county side
- Published
Lancashire made a net profit of £5m in 2019
Lancashire made an operating profit of £7.6m in 2019 - the "best-ever" earnings for a first-class county.
A club record £34m turnover was helped by Old Trafford hosting an Ashes Test and six World Cup matches last summer.
The 12 days of international cricket brought in revenue of more than £17.5m, while T20 Blast crowds went up by 34%.
"To generate in excess of £30m of non-broadcast revenues is truly remarkable and better than some Premier League clubs," said CEO Daniel Gidney.
"Clearly, these are now tough times as the club navigates its way through the current COVID-19 pandemic, but these results at least help relieve that financial burden."
Lancashire made £8.4m from conferences and events at Old Trafford, which has seen a £60m decade-long redevelopment.
On the field, the Red Rose won County Championship Division Two - securing an instant return to the top tier following their relegation in 2018, when the club made an operating profit of almost £2.4m.
Lancashire are still hoping to stage some county cricket this summer despite the start of the season being delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I believe it's very important from a mental health perspective to give members, staff, fans, players, something to hang on to," Gidney told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"We would like to see some domestic white-ball cricket, probably more likely at the back end of the season, in towards August in September, and that's currently where a rescheduled Blast will probably go."