The Ageas Bowl, home of Hampshire, is getting a new name – the Utilita Bowl – as part of a new naming-rights deal with Utilita Energy. The club’s plan is to become the “world’s greenest cricket ground”, and the new partnership with Utilita will help make that vision a reality. The venue, originally called the Rose Bowl, has become a major South Coast venue for sports, music, and leisure. It has also hosted 50 men’s internationals in the past two decades, including the inaugural World Test Championship final in 2021. The venue is set to host 19 more internationals from 2025 to 2031, including a Men’s Ashes Test in 2027 and a Women’s Ashes Test in 2031. The plans for the ground’s “pro-planet partnership” include the installation of more than 1,000 solar panels, which will save the venue a significant amount of money in electricity costs and reduce carbon emissions. The CEO of Utilita Bowl expressed excitement about the new partnership and the possibilities it will offer. This announcement comes as Hampshire faced protests over plans to build a new housing development near the local village of West End.
