Mark Newton, the Worcestershire chief executive, has insisted that the future of the county side is secure even though flooding of their New Road ground could cost them more than £250,000.
The county have already lost £170,000 in revenue through not being able to stage any of their four Twenty20 games at their headquarters plus the cost of clean-up operations after the ground was submerged in four metres of water.
They could lose another £80,000 to £100,000 if Friday’s televised floodlit Pro40 game with Hampshire is called off, with Newton rating its chances of going ahead as only “50-50.”
But he is adamant the county will not go to the wall, though the setbacks could put improvements to facilities on hold and affect staff budgets. Newton said: “The club is secure. What it means is your plans for the next few years, to do bits and pieces here and there, be it improved cricket and members facilities or whatever, will have to go on hold. It may also affect our budgets for staffing.
“From making a surplus of around £50,000 a year for the last four years, it means we will have to post a huge loss this year which has got to be made up in future years. But I stress we have not got people knocking at the door. There is no danger of the business going down but it makes it tougher for a few years.”