Bull Ring makeover hopes to pack them in

09 October 2015 - 02:01 By Liam del Carme

The English are coming and to mark the occasion the Bull Ring has the national attendance record for a cricket Test match in its cross hairs. The Gauteng Cricket Board will host the Test between the Proteas and England from January 14-18 and they are pulling out all the stops, and some chairs, to set a new attendance benchmark in a format the Wanderers has struggled to attract big numbers in."We want to set a new record and we are aiming for about 94700 spectators," said Greg Fredericks the GCB's chief executive , with the marketing angle of the number all too obvious.With a huge number of English fans having already secured match tickets for the Test series, he is optimistic the Wanderers will reach its objective.They have sold 10000 tickets for each day of the Test already.The stadium will undergo some structural changes to make for a more festive atmosphere for the Test match."We have found that our grass embankment in front of the player changerooms is very popular."That is our family area but not a lot of people are aware of that and they are surprised when they are reminded that they cannot consume alcohol there."We are going to remove the seats in the bottom tier of the Kent Park taverns area to accommodate those patrons."We will put in artificial grass and it will also be an additional braai area. It is a relaxation area and we want people to look in envy at the spectators in that area."The top tier of the Memorial stand will be converted into "the biggest stadium bar"."The seats in the top tier will remain, but the area behind it is quite big and that will be converted into a bar area. I believe that will be a very popular area," said Fredericks."To further enhance the experience for cricket fans we want the entire Wanderers to be a Wi-Fi area."The CSA is having discussions around the matter and it is something we would like to pursue."Whether all the adjustments will help the Wanderers set a new mark remains to be seen, as the Newlands Test will be one of the most anticipated matches on the domestic calendar and the first three days have been sold out.The ground's capacity is being improved with the erection of a temporary stand at the Kelvin Grove end of the ground...

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