http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,26366938-23212,00.htmlMarylebone Cricket Club will consider selling the naming rights to Lord's, cricket's most famous ground, as part of a £400 million redevelopment.
Lord's could become a super-stadium, with naming rights of the sport's most famous ground sold to a sponsor, The Times of London reported on Wednesday.
Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC), which owns Lord's in north-west London, is considering the plans designed to increase seating by about 7500 and create an underground cricket academy, a brasserie and a bigger museum.
The redevelopment, the biggest in the 195-year history of the ground, would be funded partly by the sale of luxury flats around Lord's.
The sponsoring of sporting grounds is not new, but the idea of renaming historic Lord's is almost certain to upset cricket fans, The Times of London reported.
"That (naming rights) is obviously an option but you reach a point at which you do not want to sell your soul," MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw said.
The revamp could also offer naming rights for the ground's seven stands, currently named after famous cricketers.
"They have to be very careful about the brand they choose,'' Tim Crow, of Synergy Sponsorship, said.
"Even then, I think there would be a negative reaction. The disadvantages outweigh the gains."
The new design is in the hands of Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, whose works include Britain's Tate Modern art gallery and the "Bird's Nest" Olympic stadium in Beijing.
The plans must be submitted to the local Westminster City Council after approval by MCC members.
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They can't do that!
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