Fans could now own a piece of the Lord’s turf, the most hallowed cricket ground in the world. The ground’s outfield will be relaid for the first time in 23 years and the stadium authorities have decided to cash in. A slab of grass -1.2m x 0.6m -will cost £50.
The Marylebone Cricket Club said that they are making the offer to the members to raise funds for the MCC Foundation and to aid future development of the cricket field. Though the release mentions members, which come up to 25,000, the general public too could get a slice of the sacred greens. As much as 10 per cent of the sales would go to the MCC foundation while the rest would be used to improve cricket infrastructure at the ground.
The digging up process would begin in September. From the top, 15mm of grass will be stripped before sowing fresh seed to make a brand new surface. The relaying was necessitated after tufts of grass began to tear off the outfield whenever a fielder dived. The chief curator Karl McDermott said that he had been wanting to relay the outfield some time ago, but packed schedules meant there was also a big game at Lord’s.
The last time it was relaid was in 2002 to improve the ground’s drainage facilities. The grass was auctioned too, at 10 pounds per slab, and fetched £35,000 pounds.