The United States of America is preparing to host its first-ever marquee cricket event in the T20 World Cup in the summer next year and is readying itself with a plan in place of a new pop-up stadium in the New York City. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is reportedly set to announce a 34,000 facility, 30 miles east of Manhattan in Eisenhower Park, spread across 930 acres in East Meadow on the Long Island.
As per a Cricbuzz report, the venue will also be the host to the high-octane clash between India and Pakistan. The report stated that the announcement is set to come soon, within months after the talks between the ICC and the New York City officials for a similar pop-up venue in the Bronx fell through. The Bronx facility was going to be one of the four venues in the States apart from Florida, which has already hosted international games and Morrisville and Dallas, which were the two host cities in the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket.
ICC was quick to negotiate with the Nassau County officials after resistance from locals around Bronx Park didn't help materialising the earlier facility.
A pop-up facility in a country like the USA is probably the way to go given it aids in easy transformation from football to cricket to athletics and the design is such that expansion and reduction of capacity is possible too.
The T20 World Cup 2024 is likely to kick off June 4, immediately after the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League and might delay England's home summer too. The tournament will be jointly hosted in the Caribbean and the States with 20 teams set to feature in the competition.
