The MCC have reasserted their belief that the traditions of the home of cricket are more important than the generation of revenue.
Lord's will redevelopment will not be for commercial purposes
The MCC have reasserted their belief that the traditions of the home of cricket are more important than the generation of revenue, after saying the sale of the naming rights to Lord's was not an option.
Plans for a £400m redevelopment of the ground, which include an underground cricket academy and expanded museum, will in part be funded by flats around the outside of the stadium.
But the MCC will not seek extra funds by selling naming rights to the ground or even individual stands.
"It's the home of cricket, the hallowed turf," said MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw. "It's not an option at all.
"It's something that we wouldn't consider, and in fact I even have a real problem even considering renaming the stands within the ground that are now dedicated to famous cricketers.
"It's not on the agenda, it's not on the cards and there's no way we'll be going down that path.
"To play at Lord's is a very special experience, Lord's has such a wonderful history and tradition and it's those traditions that we need to preserve.
Protecting history
"The stands are named after Compton and Edrich and Warner. They're very famous names and I couldn't see the day, certainly in my time, when we'd want to be naming them after a sponsor.
"I do feel to a degree that would be selling our soul. We have so much to offer at Lord's and I think it's about protecting our history for the future."
Bradshaw added that while he is adamant the ground needs to be upgraded, he is just as certain that it will be done primarily for cricket purposes.
"Whatever we do in terms of the vision, it's cricket-led, it's not commercial-led," he said. "We've taken a lot of things into consideration in terms of the design, not from a commercial perspective, but a cricket perspective.
"We want Lord's to continue to be the best ground in the world and we believe that we need to move with the times and make some developments, but keep that ambience and the things that make it very special to come to Lord's.
"What we plan to do is increase the capacity of the ground, we'd like to have more spectators coming in and be able to watch cricket.
"It's a vision for the future that includes a cricket academy and state-of-the-art facilities, both for members and for the general public."
