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MCC won't rename Lord's
Lord's in all its glory.
The MCC has categorically denied selling the naming rights to Lord's is an option, maintaining proposed changes to the ground will be led by cricket, rather than commercial gains.
Plans for a £400million redevelopment of the stadium, entitled Vision for Lord's, which include an underground cricket academy and expanded museum, will in part be funded by flats around the periphery of the stadium, but the MCC are not looking into selling naming rights to the ground as a whole, or even individual stands.
MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw told BBC Radio Five Live: "I just want to reassure people that there's no way we would rename Lord's.
"It's the home of cricket, the hallowed turf. 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."
Bradshaw is adamant the traditions of the home of cricket are more important than the generation of revenue.
"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," he added.
"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 believes Lord's does need to develop, but cricket will remain the focus.
"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 cricket academy, state-of-the-art facilities, both for members and for the general public."
