Sport Industry Group has named Warwickshire County Cricket Club's hosting of the third Investec Ashes Test Match at Edgbaston in the shortlist for Best Entertainment Experience at the prestigious BT Sport Industry Awards 2016. Edgbaston is the only cricket venue to be shortlisted within the 13 award categories, which includes a variety of outstanding campaigns, sponsorships, programmes, brands and activations entries from several different sports.

Gareth Roberts, Commercial Director at Warwickshire CCC, said: "The BT Sport Industry Awards is recognised as the leading event of its kind and for Edgbaston to be nominated alongside the many great sporting tournaments and events of 2015 is a huge honour. The nomination is also a reflection of the unique customer experience that Edgbaston now delivers.

Edgbaston is a very special venue on Major Match days and during the Investec Ashes Test Match we showcased exactly why Birmingham is a choice venue for the biggest international cricket events."

Following the third Investec Ashes Test Match, England Test Captain Alastair Cook and several other players of both teams praised Edgbaston and the supporters' contribution for creating such a great experience.

The venue hosts England in the Royal London ODI against Sri Lanka and the Investec Test Match against Pakistan this summer, but overall has 35 days of Major Match cricket confirmed until 2019, including five matches in both the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 and the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019. The Investec Ashes Test Series will also return in 2019 and Edgbaston will host the next three NatWest T20 Blast Finals Days.

Emma Gray, Director of Marketing and Communications at Marketing Birmingham, said: "Edgbaston provided a warm welcome to Ashes spectators last year, and has rightly been recognised as one of the UK's most exciting and entertaining sports venues.

"The hospitality at locations like Edgbaston are key to ensuring that Birmingham remains one of the UK's most popular tourism destinations. With the city attracting a record 38.1 million visitors last year, boosted by The Ashes and two Rugby World Cup fixtures, it's clear that Birmingham's reputation as a global stage for sports continues to grow."

Edgbaston made the Official Shortlist for the BT Sport Industry Awards - first the first time - following an extensive Steering Process, which involved more than 70 key industry figures and 40 hours of intensive judging and was fully overseen by EY. The entry will now go forward for consideration by the main Judging Panel, who will decide the winners in each category.

Nick Keller, chair of Sport Industry Group, commented: "The wide variety of work on the Official Shortlist is proof once again that the UK sport industry leads the way in creativity and innovation. We are delighted by the incredible level of high-quality work to be found across the board.

Throughout a thorough steering process, overseen by our official adjudicators EY, the Steering Committees had as tough a job as ever narrowing down the list, with any piece of work making the Official Shortlist representing a truly stellar achievement."

The industry's flagship event will see over 1,750 major players from the world of sport, business and entertainment come together for an unforgettable night celebrating the standout work from across the sporting world.

View the Official Shortlist for the BT Sport Industry Awards 2016 at www.sportindustry.biz/shortlist<http://www.sportindustry.biz/shortlist>

BT is the Headline Partner of the BT Sport Industry Awards, joining EY as an Official Partner.