Lord's masterplan scaled down

A tough summer for cricket has persuaded the MCC to rethink their ambitious plans for expanding the capacity of Lord's. The Lord's "Masterplan", unveiled two years ago, involved raising capacity from 28,500 to 37,000 as part of a space-age overhaul of the ground.

But after the disappointing returns of the last six months — in which Lord's sold out on one day only — the case for building another 8,500 seats is now difficult to argue.

"It's all very well when the Australians are here," said one MCC insider. "Their one-day match was the biggest crowd of the year for us. But look at next year, for instance: Sri Lanka and India. We'll probably sell out four days all summer."

Redevelopment of the main ground will still go ahead, in line with the diagrams submitted by the cutting-edge Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron.

But for the moment, the only areas that will be extended are the Compton and Edrich stands, the uncovered seating blocks either side of the Media Centre. These will take in an extra 3,500 seats, lifting capacity to 32,000.

The other stands in need of overhaul are the Tavern, the Warner and the Allen, but these are more likely to be modernisations than expansions, unless attendances suddenly pick up. The overall budget is hard to pin down, as the project will take at least a decade to complete, but current projections place it between £140 (Dh825.05) million and £190 million (Dh1.12 billion) — a subtle shift from initial forecasts of well over £200 million.

The planning behind what the MCC call their "Vision for Lord's" began in 2007, before the credit crunch hit home. It was also a time when Lord's could confidently expect to land two Tests every summer, but this has now been thrown into doubt by the arrival of Cardiff's Swalec Stadium and the Rose Bowl as Test grounds.

The expansion of the ground was always provisional, based on the surety of Test-match cricket in the future. But the MCC have not been able to win any guarantees from the England and Wales Cricket Board, and the whole structure of the Test bidding process is being reviewed.

Another part of the MCC's vision involved building five towers of flats along the Wellington Road side of the ground, and using the resulting income to set up an underground complex — probably housing an indoor cricket centre and a sports-injury clinic — beneath the Nursery Ground.

While sporting attendances may be in flux, the value of property in St John's Wood remains at a premium.