The following information was originally published in The Stadium Business at this link.
Five US venues are set to stage around a third of the games at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, which will be co-hosted by the West Indies.
The ICC this week announced that the US will host a major international cricket event for the first time when it stages the expanded competition in three years’ time.
Organisers have now confirmed that approximately two-thirds of the 55 matches will be held in the Caribbean. These will be played at 13 established international cricket grounds in the West Indies.
In the US, where the remaining one-third of the matches are likely to be played, there will be up to five venues. A spokesperson for USA Cricket said some of the venues are already ICC-approved for international cricket, some are under construction and some will be repurposed specifically to host World Cup matches.
The Central Broward Regional Park Stadium (pictured) in Lauderhill, Florida is the US’s only ICC-certified stadium and has hosted international matches and Caribbean Premier League T20 games. Other existing facilities include Moosa Stadium in Houston, BPL Cricket Ground in Chicago, Woodley Park in Los Angeles and the Indianapolis World Sports Park.
“All of the venues across both countries will be selected following a competitive tender process to be run over the coming months,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Paraag Marathe, USA Cricket’s chair, said the decision to stage the competition in the US will be a boost for the sport in a targeted emerging market and enhance the hopes of cricket being added to the schedule for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Marathe said: “A major event in 2024 will be the critical catalyst to improve facilities, develop a professional league, grow the fanbase and inspire public and corporate support,” said Marathe, who is president of 49ers Enterprises for the San Francisco 49ers and vice-chairman of Leeds United FC.
“Bringing 20 different nations together for the first time in what will be the biggest T20 World Cup of all time in 2024 is also the ideal showcase for the prospects of including cricket in the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 and leaving a legacy of facilities and public enthusiasm for the sport across America ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.”
Organizers said they aim to deliver an event that will provide match-day experiences that “combine a Caribbean carnival with the best of American sportainment”. The tournament will also blend iconic West Indies grounds with new and developing venues that will leave a lasting cricket legacy in the US.
Iain Higgins, the outgoing chief executive of USA Cricket, said: “The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be delivered in a way that has the potential to break attendance and broadcast viewership records and set a new benchmark for commercial success, staging matches in broadcast prime-time to audiences around the world and inviting new public and private partnerships from corporate America for the ICC and its members to develop over the next eight years of ICC event.”
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