The International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to disclose a 34,000-seater pop-up stadium around 30 miles east of New York City as one of the venues for the much-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, which spans 930 acres in East Meadow, a Long Island hamlet about 30 miles east of Manhattan. The stadium is also expected to 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 Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park fell through, the announcement is likely within months. City officials were compelled to cancel the plans for Bronx after considerable objections from nearby residents and one of the park’s cricket leagues. The Bronx’s loss was Nassau County’s gain, as the ICC moved quickly to begin negotiations with Nassau County officials, the managers of Eisenhower Park.
There has been a lot of pressure on the ICC to get cricket launched in the United States. The country has a two-pronged appeal in that it is both the world’s largest media market and the world’s fastest-growing cricket market. In terms of monetary value, the United States is regarded to be one of the top four countries for ICC media rights. The ICC’s selection of the United States as co-hosts of the T20 World Cup was one such affirmative measure.
However, the ICC has long been worried about the presence or absence of cricket infrastructure in the United States. Other than the stated site and Central Broward Park outside Miami, the country lacks another permanent floodlit state-of-the-art cricket structure.
The Eisenhower Park deal should resolve many of the ICC’s venue concerns in the United States. The ICC gave the United States around 20 games, which will now be divided among the three stadiums. Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, another MLC venue, is also reported to be in the competition to host a few World Cup games. The facility, on the other hand, lacks any permanent structure or practice facilities.
The ICC has previously stated 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 new temporary home for the MI New York.
