The International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to announce a 34,000-seater pop-up stadium about 30 miles east of New York City as one of the venues for the highly anticipated 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies. The facility will be erected in Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, a Long Island hamlet about 30 miles east of Manhattan. The stadium will also host the main match between India and Pakistan.
After substantial talks between ICC and New York City officials for the construction of a similar pop arena in the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park fell through, the announcement is likely within months. City officials were compelled to withdraw the plans for Bronx after considerable objections from neighbors living around the park and one of the cricket leagues housed in the park. The Bronx’s loss was Nassau County’s gain, as the ICC moved quickly to begin talks with Nassau County officials, who operate Eisenhower Park.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been under a lot of pressure to get cricket launched in the United States. The country has a dual appeal in that it is both the world’s largest media market and the fastest-growing cricket market. In terms of monetary worth, the US is regarded to be one of the top four countries for ICC media rights. One such affirmative move was the ICC’s nomination of the United States as co-hosts of the T20 World Cup.
The ICC, on the other hand, has long been concerned about the presence or absence of cricket infrastructure in the United States. MLC did unveil its 15k-seater flagship stadium in Dallas for its first season, but other than the stated site and Central Broward Park near Miami, the country lacks another permanent floodlit state-of-the-art cricket structure.
Many of the ICC’s venue issues in the United States should be addressed by the Eisenhower Park arrangement. The ICC allowed the US around 20 games, which will now be divided among the three locations. Another MLC location, Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, is thought to be in the running to host a few World Cup games. In contrast, the facility lacks any permanent building or practicing facilities.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has previously established that the 20-team World Cup will begin on June 4 and end on June 30. With the MLC’s second edition likely set for July, there’s a significant likelihood the MLC will use the recently completed infrastructure in Eisenhower Park as the MI New York’s new temporary home.
