Philadelphia-based developer Jignesh ‘Jay’ Pandya has revealed plans to build up to eight new cricket stadiums in locations across the US by 2020.
Pandya and his company Global Sports Ventures (GSV) will link up with JLL’s Sports and Entertainment Group for the project, which also aims to establish a new professional cricket league in the country.
According to plans published by the Architects Newspaper, potential locations for the new stadiums have been identified in the Atlanta metro area, the District of Columbia, Florida, Texas, the New York City metro area, Illinois, and California.
GSV has said that the eight-venue project could cost up to $2.4bn (€2.04bn), with each stadium set to cost between $70m and $125m. The initiative also looks set to create approximately 17,000 jobs.
Speaking to WXIA about the project, Pandya said: “We know our plans are ambitious, and GSV is committed to launching a professional cricket league in the US by 2020.”
So far, only images for the mooted Atlanta project have been released. Should the plan go ahead, the facility would feature a main cricket stadium with parking, as well as a club house, restaurants, a hotel, shopping and retail amenities, a petrol station and a number of other tower structures.
Professional cricket is yet to catch on in the US market, but the recent staging of Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 matches in the country has helped boost interest in the sport.
Football also endured a tough time when first introduced to the US market, but with more investment being pumped into North America’s Major League Soccer, interest in the competition and the sport in general has rocketed in recent years.
Image: Pulkitsinha
