YORK Cricket Club are not resting on their laurels in the wake of Clifton Park's "dream" County Championship debut.
The Shipton Road outfit would be delighted to become a first-class fixture after winning praise for the way they hosted the Specsavers County Championship match between Yorkshire and Warwickshire in June.
Clifton Park has already regularly hosted Yorkshire Diamonds - the women's team - over the last two seasons, as well as a couple of second-XI fixtures a year for the past decade.
This is a big step forward for York, who 13 years ago unveiled plans to overhaul their clubhouse with the primary intention of improving conditions for the club's cricket and rugby union teams, and also to put themselves in the shop window for county-level fixtures.
"From our point of view, if we can host limited-overs cricket, we would have covered all our bases," secretary Nick Kay said, referring to the current range of Yorkshire fixtures Clifton Park hosts.
"In 2021, hopefully the county will sit down and see what's appropriate for us.
"But if that (Warwickshire) was the only county game we hosted, I think a lot of the committee would rest easy because it was a dream come true for us."
The game - the first county fixture to be held in York since 1890 - went the way of Warwickshire, who chased down 217 on the final day to win with 10 overs to spare.
"The only disappointment was the result," Kay added. "But it didn't detract from the cricket and the enjoyment of the game."
York's organisation committee were helped "incredibly" by their counterparts at Headingley, Kay said, and he expressed his pride at the traffic management, hospitality marquees and the positive player environment.
"We got over 8,000 through the gates, which is more than we could have hoped for," he said.
"The feedback was very positive. There's always room for improvement but, as a first attempt, it was a job well done."
Asked if he and the club expected they would be hosting the White Rose so soon after the redevelopment, Kay admitted: "I don't think we did.
"Our ambition was one day to maybe be seen as capable of hosting county cricket.
"(Yorkshire chief executive) Mark Arthur felt we were in a position to take the next step, he put his trust in us and, after nine months' planning, we put on something that we felt was successful.
"It's nice to think we could become prominent on the Yorkshire fixture list, whether that be one-day or four-day cricket."
Opened in 2010, the new-look pavilion at Clifton Park sits adjacent to the first team's pitch and comprises six changing rooms, two function rooms, a members' bar and a private function bar.
And a facelift could also be in order for the seconds' clubhouse, located behind the rugby club stand, with a similar intention of drawing higher-class games.
The club estimate around £200,000 will be needed - a fair sum but, on the evidence, not out of the reach of York, who had to pull together north of £1 million for their current centrepiece.
It is hoped the redevelopment programme will be kicked off in the next 12 months.
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