The competition for staging Test matches in England is becoming so intense that MCC is planning to adopt the methods used at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium to improve the growth of grass at Lord’s during the day and at night.

A form of scientific laboratory would be created on the square which could be set up during inclement weather to ensure pitches were prepared on time. The club is also looking at implementing methods gleaned from sports in the United States.

MCC is faced with growing competition for the second of its two annual Tests at Lord’s, not least from the redeveloped Sophia Gardens in Cardiff and the Rose Bowl in Southampton. John Stephenson, the club’s Head of Cricket, and David Batts, the deputy chief executive, have visited the Emirates to examine the lighting system that Arsenal use to enhance the growth of grass.

Keith Bradshaw, the secretary of MCC, also wants to introduce a paperless ticket system, as is sometimes used at pop concerts in Britain as well as in the US, serve food to spectators in the cheaper seats as well as the boxes, and marketing Lord's as one of the leading brands in the world.

Although the £1.2 million drainage system at Lord’s has been successful - last summer play was restarted in the Test against India remarkably quickly after the outfield was drenched – Bradshaw has engaged a consultant to examine the growth of grass and turf.

“It is a matter of staying ahead through use of technology to enhance the ground,” he said. “We also want to ensure any shadows cast at the Nursery End through the redevelopment will not affect the grass there.” The club is to meet with SGL, the manufacturers of 30ft lighting rigs that are used 24 hours a day to atone for the lack of sunlight in the winter at the Emirates. These cost £50-60,000 each and can be folded away before kick-off or the start of play. “We could use these inside a tent over the pitch being prepared for a Test while it was raining and for drop-in and practice pitches,” Batts said. “It would be like creating a laboratory. John was a little sceptical beforehand but more keen after meeting Paul Burgess, Arsenal’s head groundsman.” Emirates and Lord’s have successfully strengthened their natural grass with synthetic fibre that helps bind it together.

Batts, whose background is in hotels, is to visit baseball, basketball and American football stadiums in January to examine their methods of catering. He and Bradshaw believe that the growth of Twenty20 cricket means that spectators will have less time or inclination to queue for food. “We are pitching to hold the ICC World Twenty20 final in 2009 and I believe there is huge potential for its expansion here, in the States and even in China, which received television coverage of the tournament in South Africa this year. Serving food to people in their seats is very relevant to that. And I mean something better than burgers,” Bradshaw said. He is to undertake formal talks with David Collier, his opposite number at the ECB, over its staging agreement with MCC, which expires in 2009.

After consultation with the club’s membership through a series of road shows, there is less likelihood of a hotel being built on the ground than a residential development on a 170-metre strip of land running alongside Wellington Road where temporary hospitality units are at present in place. “Some members felt an hotel would not be in keeping with the ground,” Bradshaw said. “We are still working on the concept of flats.” Talks are under way with RLP, a firm of property developers that has acquired the lease from Network Rail.

It is understood that Sir John Major, who sits on MCC’s committee, and Mike Brearley, the president, are in favour of the proposed £100 million masterplan, which should make Lord’s more accessible to the general public. Funding for it will come in part from the sale of debenture seats in the Mound Stand and Grand Stand and bring about an increase in the capacity of the ground, which has been backed by 96 per cent of the members.

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