Yorkshire's new commercial director, Tony Panaro, is already bringing his selling skills to Headingley and in the space of a few weeks he has filled all the hospitality boxes above the winter shed for the next two years.

In recent seasons, most of the boxes have remained embarrassingly empty during Yorkshire's Championship matches but the speed with which Panaro has sold them to local companies has convinced him that there is a huge demand for such facilities at major cricket grounds.

Panaro was new to cricket when he joined Yorkshire, having previously been involved in American basketball in both Manchester and Orlando, but he's learning about the English game fast and believes strongly that it can be sold to the public if packaged correctly.

It is also his intention to make sure that Headingley is used far more often as a venue for other attractions as well as cricket once the £10m redevelopment programme is completed by the start of next season.

"The new West Stand looks very impressive and the ground is ideal for the staging of events such as big-name concerts," said Panaro.

"To have a stadium which will hold around 18,000 and to fill it only a few times in the summer with cricket spectators is a waste of the facilities.

"We need to be putting on more special events and making sure with the cricket that spectators feel that they are being given a good day out.

"The one-day game can be marketed as a family outing with other attractions also available to be enjoyed and Championship cricket can be made more comfortable for its fans.

"I am very keen to find out what facilities older members would like at Headingley as well as trying to attract a younger audience."

Panaro has also enjoyed another successful venture since arriving at Headingley.

After Darren Lehmann had plundered his 252 against Lancashire - the record individual innings in a Roses match - he had printed off a special commemorate scorecard of the game.

"It sold like hotcakes and I quickly realised what a demand there is among cricket fans for this sort of thing," he said.