Sport North East ISSUE 01 | Page 30

Durham FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/SPORTNEMAG As Professional Insurance Brokers, we guarantee that your interests are our first priority and that our experienced team will give you honest and impartial insurance advice at all times. Specialists In: • Business Insurance • Motor Insurance • Property Insurance • Liability Insurance • Marine and Cargo www.castleinsuranceservices.co.uk “Castle Insurance Services have been involved with Durham CCC for many years now; we currently insure both the club and the cricket ground. Castle Insurance Services have a great relationship with Durham CCC and currently sponsor a player, Ryan Pringle, and also have a box at the ground. We regularly use the facilities down at the club for business and pleasure, staff and clients come down for meetings and training and we also go to watch as many games as possible. It’s a relaxed and friendly atmosphere down at the Emirates Riverside and a fantastic community club. The new branding and logo look fabulous and we believe it will attract more youth and families to the club. From all of us here at Castle Insurance Services we would like to wish everyone associated with Durham CCC all the very best and keep up the great work.” Paul Younger want to have a successful first team but also continue to grow the commercial aspects of the business and grow cricket at all levels in the North.” 2019 “We have a busy year ahead both on and off the field. The team are hoping to progress from last year. We had a good T20 campaign but we want to be more competitive in the County Championship this year. We are also hosting three games in the Cricket World Cup as well as concerts and a range of large events and conferences. We are also developing the retail and restaurant offering at the ground. We really want to attract more families to the ground and have ambitious targets to increase attendances. This is an area we have been successful in over the last few years with improved attendances and many more children coming to games. We have won awards for our improvements in these areas and were rated as the best family experience in cricket so we feel we have developed a strong base to build from.” Challenges/Ambitions “There are always challenges in all aspects of business. I think for us, in terms of our ambition to grow our attendances and fan base, its competition for people’s time and their disposable income. People have less time and more options these days. We need to make sure Cricket has an appeal for everyone and the overall product we offer is as good as any major entertainment experience. We have a lot of targets across the club. We would like to get promoted and re-establish ourselves as a force in English Cricket. We want to keep developing home grown talent through our academy and developing our women’s teams. Growing participation, attendance and engagement with the sport in the North is also a priority. Off the field, we have lots of plans to grow commercial revenues which will then allow us to reinvest in the infrastructure of the club and the squad.” “Sporting Pay is a dedicated merchant services provider that works with sports clubs across the country. We are delighted to work together with Durham County Cricket Club in a partnership that sees Sporting Pay providing the latest in merchant services and card machines, whilst helping to support the club through sponsorship around the ground and of Alex Lees this season. There are exciting times ahead at Durham and the rebranding with a focus on families and children can only be a positive change. From all of us here at Sporting Pay we would like to wish everyone associated with Durham County Cricket Club all the very best and we look forward to our partnership growing.” Chris Norminton 30 Issue 01