Sussex have defended their decision to charge their 4,000 members to watch Twenty20 cricket next season.

They are being asked to pay £6 per game on top of their £130 subs.

The county are anxious to avoid a repeat of last year when there were hundreds of empty seats in members' areas for the games against Surrey and Hampshire while other supporters had to stand because non-members' areas were full.

All counties will receive £70,000 less in their annual handout from the ECB, but cricket bosses have given them the opportunity to make up the shortfall by expanding the Twenty20 so that each county has four home games.

Sussex made around £35,000 from Twenty20 last year, but will be hoping to treble that sum in 2005.

The first game, against Essex on June 22, could be played at Arundel which has a bigger capacity than Hove.

Chief executive Hugh Griffiths said: "Against Surrey last year we stopped selling tickets a week before because we thought it was going to be a sell-out, based on the response from members who said they were going to be there.

"In the event there were 800 empty seats which was like getting 800 ten-pound notes, tearing them up and throwing them into the sea.

"I'd like to think our members are as interested in our profitability as we are. The team and the ground itself are way ahead of what they were five years ago and we're very proud of that, but it has come at a price.

"We have to look at ways of improving the bottom line and the Twenty20 is one such opportunity as well as being a great vehicle to get people interested in the game."

Sussex have finally received an interim payment on the legacy of their former president Spen Cama which has paid off the loan used to build the new indoor school in 2002.

The rest of the £7m windfall will be used for the next phase of improvements to facilities at the County Ground, a redevelopment at the sea end which should start in 2007. The £7m is due early in 2005.