Construction has already started on a futuristic, environmentally sustainable cricket stadium in Spain — and its founder has big dreams. Daniel Weston wants the venue, Campo Maximo, to one day host a Test match.
(Credits: BBC Sport)
Campo Maximo: Spain’s Eco Cricket Ground
The Australian entrepreneur is overseeing construction of the ground in Playa Flamenca on the Costa Blanca, a 45-minute drive from Alicante. Campo Maximo aims to be one of the world’s most eco-friendly cricket venues, harnessing solar energy and harvesting rainwater.
“I want to try and think 20, 30, 50 years in the future,” Weston told the Stumped podcast. Around 4,600 square metres of solar panels will act as a high-tech solar farm over the car park, charging batteries that power everything including the floodlights. Meanwhile, 100,000 cubic-metre tanks under the field will store recycled water — a major issue in water-scarce Spain.
An Artificial Outfield Engineered for Cricket
The ground’s most innovative feature will be its outfield, which uses a new type of artificial grass developed specifically for the venue. The short-pile synthetic surface, installed over an elastic pad with engineered drainage layers, has been designed to replicate the playing characteristics of natural grass — without the maintenance or fertiliser.
Weston, tested in labs with bowling spikes simulating fast bowlers pounding into it, believes the artificial outfield will be “better” than natural grass: consistent, with no dips and no water pooling. Floodlights will allow play “365 days and nights a year.”
The venue will open with a 1,000-seat capacity — expandable via modular stands — with the first ball expected in 2028 and full operations in 2029. Weston also hopes the Indian Premier League might one day tour there, “like the NFL.” The 43-year-old, best known as the force behind the European Cricket Network, has wanted his own field of dreams since his father gave him a painting of the WACA when he was six.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
