The 2024 domestic cricket season for Surrey and the South East Stars promises to be thrilling for both men's and women's games. The Surrey CCC and venue will be busy with three international fixtures and The Hundred.
Kia Oval's team has been working hard to make improvements for all visitors and Members to the ground. The venue will trial contactless Membership Cards early in the season. Eligible Members will receive an email with instructions on how to use them. This innovation aims to reduce entry time and enhance the venue experience.
Bar-goers will notice a price increase for drinks. This increase in costs is due to rising production costs and a 10% increase in the London Living Wage after Christmas. However, the Club has absorbed some of these costs to avoid passing them all on to visitors and Members.
In addition, it has been decided to change the reusable cup system that has been in place for around eight years. Starting this year, the price of the first drink will include a non-refundable £1 fee, which will be donated to charity. If a visitor brings back the cup to the bar when ordering subsequent drinks, the fee will be waived. However, if the cup is not returned, the £1 fee will be charged again. Finally, the cup should be returned to one of the donation points around the concourse after the last drink.
The estimate is that the new system will raise a significant amount of money for charity, in the six-figure range. A group of nominated charities, as well as the Club’s green initiatives, will benefit from the new system.
Although the previous system was a positive initial measure to reduce waste from single-use plastic cups, it presented significant operational challenges. These included long queues for cup refunds at the end of matches and instances of spectators taking cups from other fans. In addition to addressing these issues, a new handleless cup that has a significantly lower impact on the environment will be intoduced. This will reduce the carbon emissions associated with washing and transporting the cups by 84%.
The Club has implemented a new seat reservation process for The Hundred in the Laker Balcony. Members can now reserve a specific seat free of charge prior to the fixture. If this trial is successful, we may consider expanding and implementing it for other competitions in future seasons.