Sport is big business – in more ways than one.
Birmingham is already firmly on the nation’s sporting map thanks to world-class facilities such as Warwickshire Country Cricket Club at Edgbaston.
And Edgbaston Priory Club is already home to the prestigious AEGON Classic, previously the DFS Classic, which attracts many of the greats in women’s tennis. These events play an important role boosting the city’s economy and profile on the world stage.
Plans to expand and improve the Priory will propel the city’s sporting reputation a step further, and potentially pave the way for even more prestigious contests to be held here. It should also help to safeguard the AEGON Classic, which was nearly lost to the city some years back, partly due to concern about the state of the facilities available.
Although that danger seems to have been averted, improving the Priory should ensure that it never returns.
It will boost the economy by bringing fans and the media circus that surrounds big events into the city.
But it will also provide an indirect boost to the city by making it even clearer to anyone looking for a venue for major events, from a business conference to a political rally, that Birmingham is capable of hosting anything that’s thrown at it.
It may also help to encourage interest in sport among the city’s youth, which can have a range of knock-on effects including making the city healthier and helping young people develop the discipline and motivation that will help them in their academic studies and future careers.
On the other hand, the Priory’s proposals will undoubtedly prompt some concern among nearby residents who are likely to be affected by the plans.
In a similar way, when Warwickshire CCC announced proposals to improve its ground, including the installation of floodlights, there were legitimate concerns about the effect it could have on the surrounding neighbourhood.
But as in the case of the cricket ground, the city should get behind the Priory’s plans.
It is essential that they are developed in a way which minimises the effect on the local community, but they should also be allowed to go ahead.
The United Kingdom has long had an ambiguous relationship with the competitive sport. We invented many of the world’s favourite games and are now frequently amazed that other countries seem to be better at them than us.
And there can be no better case in point than tennis. Apart from Andy Murray there are no male British players in the world’s top 100 and their female counterparts fair little better – and this is despite having the world’s most successful tournament in terms of popularity and revenue at Wimbledon.
It has long been a source of complaint that the Lawn Tennis Association appears to be awash with cash and yet we see no marked improvements in the development of young players.
However, while we await all the details it would appear that the LTA is putting its money where its mouth is and that could mean there is a better than evens chance that the next Andy Murray could even be a Brummie.
And of course this would also be fitting as it was in Edgbaston that the rules of lawn tennis were first drafted and, if campaigners get their way, there will also be a permanent museum to celebrate this fact as part of the planned redevelopment, giving tennis fans from around the world a reason to visit the city all year round.
