Rose Bowl (cricket ground)

Utilita Bowl

Utilita Bowl
The pavilion flanked by the Colin Ingleby-MacKenzie and Shane Warne Stands
Ground information
Location	West End, Hampshire SO30 3XH
Coordinates	50°55′26″N 1°19′19″W / 50.9240°N 1.3219°W / 50.9240; -1.3219
Establishment	2001
Capacity	15,000 (25,000 with temporary seating)[1]
Owner	RB Sport & Leisure Holdings plc
End names
Northern End Pavilion End
International information
First Test	16–20 June 2011:  England v  Sri Lanka
Last Test	19–23 June 2021:  India v  New Zealand
First ODI	10 July 2003:  South Africa v  Zimbabwe
Last ODI	10 September 2023:  England v  New Zealand
First T20I	13 July 2005:  England v  Australia
Last T20I	11 September 2024:  England v  Australia
First WODI	24 August 2006:  England v  India
Last WODI	16 July 2023:  England v  Australia
First WT20I	1 July 2010:  England v  New Zealand
Last WT20I	6 July 2024:  England v  New Zealand
Team information
Hampshire (2001 – present) Hampshire Cricket Board (2001) Southern Vipers (2016 –present) Southern Brave (2021 -present)
As of 6 July 2024 Source: ESPN Cricinfo

The Rose Bowl, known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Bowl, is a cricket ground and hotel complex in West End, Hampshire. It is the home of Hampshire County Cricket Club, who have played there since 2001.

It was constructed as a replacement for the County Ground in Southampton and also the United Services Recreation Ground in Portsmouth, which had been Hampshire's homes since 1882. Hampshire played their inaugural first-class match at the ground against Worcestershire on 9–11 May 2001, with Hampshire winning by 124 runs. The ground has since hosted international cricket, including One Day Internationals, matches in the 2004 Champions Trophy, two Twenty20 Internationals and Test matches in 2011, 2014 and 2018, when England played Sri Lanka and India. In 2020, the ground was used as one of two biosecure venues, alongside Old Trafford, for the tours involving West Indies, Pakistan and Ireland which were regulated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to be able to host Test cricket, the ground underwent a redevelopment starting in 2008, which saw stands built to increase capacity and other construction work undertaken to make the hosting of international cricket at the ground more viable. A four-star Hilton Hotel with an integrated media centre overlooking the ground opened in 2015. Following Hampshire Cricket Ltd finding itself in financial trouble in 2011, the lease on the ground was sold to Eastleigh Borough Council for £6.5 million with a benefactor injecting a similar sum in 2012.

The Rose Bowl played host to the inaugural final of the 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship between India and New Zealand, resulting in New Zealand being crowned inaugural World Test Champions.^[2]