Grand Prairie Stadium
Featured image credit: Major League Cricket
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that a 34,000-seat modular stadium in Nassau County, New York will be one of three venues for the United States’ co-hosting of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
The ICC has today (Wednesday) confirmed Dallas, Florida and New York as the three venues as the event is staged in the USA for the first time. The ICC Board initially awarded the hosting of the T20 World Cup to the West Indies and the USA in November 2021.
The ICC today said the three venues were selected following “extensive evaluation” of several options. An agreement has been reached for the construction of a 34,000-seat modular stadium in Eisenhower Park, a purpose-built sports and events park in East Meadow, Nassau County, on awarding of the required permit next month.
The selection of Eisenhower Park comes with Van Cortland Park in the Bronx previously appearing to be in the box seat for a World Cup venue in New York. The other venues selected – Grand Prairie Stadium and Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium – are established cricket grounds in the US.
The redeveloped Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas served as the primary venue for Major League Cricket’s debut season, which ran from July 13-30. Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, located in Lauderhill, Florida, first opened in 2007.
The ICC said the existing venues will be increased in size by modular stadium solutions to expand seating, media and premium hospitality areas – subject to final agreement.
ICC chief executive, Geoff Allardice, said: “We’re delighted to announce the three USA venues that will host part of the biggest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ever staged, with 20 teams competing for the trophy. The USA is a strategically important market and these venues give us an excellent opportunity to make a statement in the world’s biggest sport market.
“We explored a number of potential venue options in the country, and we were hugely encouraged by the enthusiasm the event generated amongst prospective hosts, reinforcing the growing awareness around cricket’s massive fanbase and its power to unite diverse communities.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to use modular stadium technology to present world class cricket in a location that has not previously hosted an ICC global event giving USA cricket fans the chance to watch the world’s best on their doorstep.
“This technology has been used at previous ICC events to increase venue capacity and it’s routinely used in other major sports around the world. In the USA, it will give us the opportunity to increase the size of the venues in both Dallas and Florida and create what is going to be a stunning venue in New York.”
Nassau County Executive, Bruce Blakeman, added: “Nassau County is excited to partner with the ICC to host the Men’s T20 World Cup, one of the most popular sporting events in the world. With more than one billion fans worldwide, this event will attract fans from all around the world to Eisenhower Park.
“Whether it be PGA (golf) events, record breaking concerts in our parks, or the annual Belmont Stakes, we are no stranger to hosting large scale events on the world stage. I look forward to bringing our many diverse communities together to watch some of the best cricket in the world, right here in Nassau County.”
A number of other venues around the USA, including George Mason University in Washington, the new home of MLC team Washington Freedom, have also been identified by the ICC as potential venues for pre-event matches and training.
Share this