The 72-year-old, who owns over 60 per cent of the shares of the club, will be replaced by Nick Pike. Bransgrove told members of his decision ahead of play on day one of the County Championship game against Essex
Rod Bransgrove has announced he will step down as the county's chairman at the end of the season after 23 years.
Bransgrove rescued Hampshire from insolvency in 2000, completed the club's move from its 116-year home at Northlands Road to the Ageas Bowl and has overseen a successful era on the south coast.
The 72-year-old, who owns over 60 per cent of the shares of the club, will be replaced by Nick Pike.
Pike has been deputy chairman since 2021, having been an original investor in Rose Bowl Plc in 2001, and was managing director of Hampshire Cricket before acting as non-executive director and vice-president.
Bransgrove made the announcement to members ahead of the LV=Insurance County Championship fixture with Essex in the atrium of the pavilion which bears his name.
He said: "I will be standing down as chairman of Hampshire Cricket at the end of the year. There are many reasons for this but for one I am getting older. Also when we started this journey 23 years ago I promised you four things.
Rod Bransgrove addresses members at the Ageas Bowl [Sam Morshead/The Cricketer]
"Firstly, that we would save Hampshire cricket from insolvency and the fact we are all here is proof of that.
"Secondly, that we would create a team that competes with the very best in all competitions, and we are now one of the teams nobody wants to play.
"The third important point was that we would create a stadium capable of housing the very best international and Test match cricket and the recent announcement is the final validation of that very long and sometimes very difficult journey.
"And the other was to create a business all around Hampshire cricket to make sure that the county is never again threatened with insolvency. We are a long way to doing that and the business around the site is becoming extremely valuable."
The announcement coincides with the launch of Ivo Tennant's biography Back from the Brink: How Rod Bransgrove Saved Hampshire from Extinction.
Bransgrove's decision to step down comes after realising his ambition to host an Ashes Test match, with the ground scheduled to host a match in the 2027 series.
It will be the eighth Test match to be held on the ground – with the other matches including three behind closed doors during the Covid pandemic and the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand in 2021.
Bransgrove is stepping down as chair of Hampshire Cricket [Sam Morshead/The Cricketer]
The Ageas Bowl – which is set to receive a new title sponsor at the end of this season – will also host India in 2029, a yet-to-be-decided Test in 2030, and a Women's Ashes Test in 2031, along with regular white-ball matches in the next eight years.
Off-the-field Bransgrove has overseen the building and development of the Ageas Bowl – which now includes the Hilton Hotel and Boundary Lakes Golf Course, with plans for more additions currently under consideration with Eastleigh Borough Council.
His reign has also seen four other white-ball triumphs and a Division Two title in the County Championship, albeit without ending a 50-year wait for a Championship despite plenty of near-misses. Before Bransgrove arrived, Hampshire had only managed eight trophies in their previous 137 years.
He also put his weight behind bringing women's cricket to the Ageas Bowl and helped turn Southern Vipers into the most successful side in the country. The team has won a Kia Super League, the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy twice, and two Charlotte Edwards Cups in their eight-year existence.
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