Spain’s Eco Cricket Ground Aims for a Test Match

Spain’s cricket ambitions have taken a bold new turn. In the sunshine near Alicante, construction is already underway on a futuristic, environmentally sustainable ground that its creator hopes will one day host a Test match. The project, Campo Maximo, is designed to be more than just another venue. It is being built as a statement of intent for cricket in Europe.

A vision that stretches beyond club cricket

Australian entrepreneur Daniel Weston is the driving force behind the venue at Playa Flamenca on the Costa Blanca, around a 45-minute drive from Alicante. Best known for his role with the European Cricket Network, Weston has long imagined building his own “field of dreams”.

Now that dream is taking physical shape. Weston wants Campo Maximo to become the “home of European cricket”, but he is already thinking bigger. Speaking on the Stumped podcast, he made clear that international ambitions are part of the plan.

“I’d love a Test match to be held there,” Weston said. “If I can build a place which ends up attracting Test cricket and lovers of Test cricket, that would be special.”

He also suggested the venue could one day appeal to major franchise cricket. “I also think the Indian Premier League will start going on tour like the NFL, and maybe one day they might want to play a game in Spain,” he added.

Built for sustainability and year-round use

The most striking part of Campo Maximo is not just its location, but its design. Weston says the venue will aim to be one of the world’s most eco-friendly cricket grounds, with solar energy, rainwater harvesting and floodlights built into the concept from the start.

The ground will feature around 4,600 square metres of panels acting as a high-tech solar farm over the car park. That energy will be stored in batteries and used to power the venue, including the floodlights for night games.

Water sustainability is another major priority in a country where drought remains a serious concern. Weston said the venue will include 100,000 cubic metre tanks under the field to store recycled water.

“I’m big into sustainable renewables,” Weston said. “I want to try and think 20, 30, 50 years in the future.”

That long-term thinking extends to the playing surface too. The venue’s outfield will use a new type of artificial grass being developed specifically for Campo Maximo. Weston says the synthetic turf is still in testing but has been engineered to replicate the feel and behaviour of natural grass.

An artificial surface with big claims

The outfield is perhaps the project’s most unconventional feature. Weston describes it as “a short-pile artificial playing surface without loose granular infill”, installed over an elastic pad and specially engineered drainage layers.

He believes that the surface could offer an advantage over traditional turf. It is intended to reduce maintenance, remove the need for fertiliser and avoid the dips and waterlogging that can interrupt play on natural fields.

“It’ll be consistent, you won’t have dips and you won’t have places where water accumulates,” Weston explained. “I think the future will be artificial outfields.”

The floodlights will also allow the venue to host cricket “365 days and nights a year”, according to Weston, giving the ground a flexibility that many conventional venues cannot match.

In the lab, the turf is being tested against bowling spikes and the force of fast-bowling action. Weston says the goal is to prove the surface is durable enough for elite cricket while still remaining safe for players.

Can Spain really host a Test match?

At first glance, a Test match in Spain may sound like a romantic idea rather than a practical one. But the concept is not as far-fetched as it once might have seemed.

Spain’s governing body, Cricket Espana, is an Associate member of the International Cricket Council. Importantly, ICC regulations do not appear to forbid a Test match being staged in Spain, provided the fixture is between two Full Member nations and both boards agree.

That means a match such as England versus Ireland could, in theory, take place in Spain if the venue meets the required standards. The Marylebone Cricket Club’s Laws of Cricket also do not state that the wider playing area must be natural grass.

However, there are still major hurdles. Campo Maximo would need to meet the ICC’s international venue guidelines, including proving that the surface is safe and does not present an injury risk. That approval process will likely shape how quickly Weston’s vision can move from concept to reality.

Why the timing matters

The idea of cricket in Spain has momentum thanks in part to existing facilities in the country. Desert Springs Cricket Ground in Almeria is already used by several English counties for pre-season preparation, while Yorkshire and Somerset played a two-day fixture there in March as part of their build-up to the County Championship.

That background makes Campo Maximo part of a wider story: Spain is no longer just a warm-weather training base. It is beginning to emerge as a potential destination for serious cricket.

Weston, who relocated to Munich in 2007 and later played T20 international cricket for Germany, has built his career around expanding cricket’s reach across Europe. Now, his latest project could become the most ambitious yet.

The venue will initially hold 1,000 spectators, though there is scope to expand through temporary or semi-permanent stands. Weston expects the first ball to be bowled in 2028, with the ground fully operational the following year. Plans also include a hotel near a golf course close to the site.

For now, Campo Maximo remains under construction. But if Weston’s vision works, the result could be something cricket has rarely seen: sangria, tapas and Test cricket under the Spanish sun.

“If you can build something that attracts Test cricket and people who love Test cricket, that would be special,” Weston said. It is a big ambition, but in this project, big ambition appears to be the starting point.