A plan to construct a 34,000-seat temporary stadium for next year’s Cricket World Cup in the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park has officially fallen apart amid intense backlash from opponents.
Instead, the International Cricket Council said an agreement has been reached for the stadium to be built in Eisenhower Park, located in Nassau County on Long Island, pending the awarding of a required permit next month.
Dallas, Texas and Miami, Florida will also host matches at the men's T20 World Cup, cricket's global governing body announced Wednesday.
What You Need To Know
- A plan to construct a 34,000-seat temporary stadium for next year’s Cricket World Cup in the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park has officially fallen apart amid intense backlash from opponents
- The International Cricket Council said an agreement has been reached for the stadium to be built in Eisenhower Park, located in Nassau County on Long Island, pending the awarding of a required permit next month
- The stadium would have been built on eight existing cricket pitches in Van Cortlandt Park, making a swath of the beloved park off-limits to New Yorkers during the early summer months
A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams, who had pushed for the plan, previously said the tournament had the potential to bring $150 million in economic activity to the city, while generating thousands of new jobs.
Local elected leaders and some Bronx residents quickly rebuffed the proposal, however, saying that the construction of the stadium would violate multiple rules and regulations and that little to no community engagement had occurred.
The stadium would have been built on eight existing cricket pitches in Van Cortlandt Park, making a swath of the beloved park off-limits to New Yorkers during the early summer months.
In a statement released Wednesday, Adams’ deputy press secretary, Amaris Cockfield, congratulated Nassau County on its selection, adding that New York City “put forward a competitive bid reflective of the diversity of our city and the countless immigrant communities who call it home.”
“While we were hopeful that New York City would be selected, we invite attendees to stay in New York City hotels and to enjoy the incredible entertainment, cultural organizations, restaurants, and other attractions that make New York City the best destination for major events and visitors from around the world and that create economic opportunities for the hard-working New Yorkers who make our city run,” Cockfield said.
The United States will be staging a global cricket event for the first time as the sport looks to expand into a new territory. It is co-hosting the June 4-30 tournament with the West Indies.
“The USA is a strategically important market,” ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said, “and these venues give us an excellent opportunity to make a statement in the world’s biggest sport market.”
The inaugural Major League Cricket competition was held this year in the U.S., with teams from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, New York and Washington — four of which are owned by franchises in the Indian Premier League — taking part. Grand Prairie staged many of the games.
Florida also hosted recent T20s between India and the West Indies at Central Broward Stadium in Lauderhill.