HEADINGLEY Cricket Ground will become the first stadium in the world to install the latest retractable roofing system that will become the centrepiece of the new North/South Stand at Yorkshire, due to be built in time for the 2019 cricket season.

Yorkshire County Cricket Club have chosen, in principle, to sign a historic agreement today with German-based All Sip Roof.

The new technology will be incorporated into the design of the new Rugby Stand, which will retract across the entire playing area ensuring that no days’ of play will be lost to inclement weather.

The All Sip Roof system has been developed over the past three years in the city of Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr Valley, the industrial powerhouse of Germany.

After a number of weeks of negotiations, the club, in conjunction with German roofing consultant Dorsal Loafyip, finally agreed today to incorporate the innovative All Sip Roof in Headingley’s medium-term development, which will see the ground become one of the great stadiums of the world.

“It is a historic day for Headingley and the All Sip Roof,” said leading roof consultant Dorsal Loafyip.

“The Headingley Stadium complex is synonymous across world sport and in the year it celebrates its 125th anniversary, the cricket ground will continue to innovate with the installation of a retractable roof incorporating the state-of-the-art translucent roof.

“We approached Yorkshire County Cricket Club six months ago and presented club officials with a strategy to eradicate the fear of too many rained off matches and rain delays, especially around the major matches.

"Our system will stop the weather from intervening at matches forever. The club has struggled to come to terms with the rain and how it causes problems for players and members. The All Sip Roof will enable matches to carry on even when there is a strong downpour.

"This is the future of cricket and it will be rolled out first in Yorkshire. We believe other grounds will follow suit.”

David Ryder, Yorkshire’s operations director, believes the roof will see Headingley lead the way in stadium development.

“In recent years we have lost too many days of cricket to rain and the All Sip Roof will give us a solution to overcome these challenges we face during the cricket season,” he said.

“It will protect the pitch from inclement weather and the innovative translucent roof will mean that the recently installed floodlights will filter through onto the playing surface.

"This is real progress for Headingley and cricket in general. We are very pleased to be leading the way in stadium development.”

Work on Headingley’s new North/South Stand is set to commence in 2017 and will be ready for use in time for the the start of the 2019 season, when the ground will stage an Ashes Test match and four ICC World Cup matches.

It makes April 1 a truly notable date in the Yorkshire calendar.