The Ashes: £20 Million North East Boost

9 August 2013, 06:00 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

The fourth test of the 2013 Ashes series at Chester-Le-Street is set to bring £20 million to the North East's economy.

It's the first time an Ashes Test match has been held at the Riverside.

Over 50,000 tickets have been sold - although seats are still available for days four and five.

Melanie Sensicle, chief executive of Visit County Durham, has told Capital it's hard to put an exact figure on the benefits the cricket will bring to the region.

She said:
"Talking to the cricket club and doing some studies and some benchmarking it looks like it will be a minimum of £20 million that will come into the economy as a result of the Ashes.

That's people coming here, spending money in hotels, restaurants and bars, as well as going out and seeing the rest of the county while they're here."