Dubai: International cricket has hit the USA shores a few years back, but the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup, to be jointly conducted by the West Indies and USA, will take the excitement to a different level. The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Wednesday, confirmed Dallas, Florida and New York as the three venues in USA for the showpiece.
The bigger tournament, which will see 20 teams competing for the first time in the history of the Twenty20 World Cup to be held from June 4 to 30 next year, will also see bigger stadiums. Grand Prairie in Dallas, Broward County in Florida and Nassau County in New York will be part of history as the event is staged in the USA for the first time after the venues were selected following extensive evaluation of several options. Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill has hosted many international games since first hosting a two-match Twenty20 series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in 2010. India first played in Florida in 2016 when KL Rahul scored the second fastest Twenty20 century, off 46 balls in 2016.
Purpose-built stadium
An agreement has been reached for the construction of a 34,000-seat modular stadium in Eisenhower Park, a purpose-built sports and events park in Nassau County, New York, on awarding of the required permit next month. The existing venues in Grand Prairie and Broward County will be increased in size by modular stadium solutions to expand seating, media and premium hospitality areas subject to final agreement.
ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said: “We’re delighted to announce the three USA venues that will host part of the biggest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ever staged, with 20 teams competing for the trophy. The USA is a strategically important market and these venues give us an excellent opportunity to make a statement in the world’s biggest sport market.
Uniting diverse communities
“We explored a number of potential venue options in the country, and we were hugely encouraged by the enthusiasm the event generated among prospective hosts, reinforcing the growing awareness around cricket’s massive fanbase and its power to unite diverse communities.
”We are very excited about the opportunity to use modular stadium technology to present world class cricket in a location that has not previously hosted an ICC global event giving USA cricket fans the chance to watch the world’s best on their doorstep. This technology has been used at previous ICC events to increase venue capacity and it’s routinely used in other major sports around the world. In the USA, it will give us the opportunity to increase the size of the venues in both Dallas and Florida and create what is going to be a stunning venue in New York.”
Modular stadiums are a semi-permanent design that allows for installation at a fraction of the price of a traditional stadium while maintaining safety, comfort, and aesthetics. Modular stadiums can also be expanded within their current footprint as the team and fan base grows, or even relocated to a new site.
• A modular stadium is defined as being “built of steel and aluminium above ground permitting rapid cost-effective installation of infrastructure while maintaining safety, comfort, and aesthetics.
• Modular stadia are developed to serve as a short-term solution, providing all the amenities of a permanent stadium venue, including a combination of premium and general admission seating, VIP and hospitality suites, changing rooms, restrooms, concessions, media and broadcast facilities and all other facilities that were previously limited to a permanent venue.
• A purpose-built, cricket-specific stadium can be built in 2-3 months and is compliant with all local building and safety codes. The modular design is completely customisable, enabling specific configurations and seating capacity, with the flexibility to make adjustments if required.
• Every week in professional sport, modular stadium solutions are utilised with facilities for fans, international broadcasters and media operating at the highest standards and meeting all technology requirements for global media coverage. High end food & beverage catering, merchandise stores, spectator sanitary facilities at premium and world class levels are delivered. The Ryder Cup (Rome, Italy) in September will put on display the highest level of modular stadium solutions.
• Formula One has relied on modular stadium infrastructure for many decades, especially on street circuits like Monaco, Miami, Singapore, Baku etc and established racetracks to manage the ever-growing requirement for high quality hospitality and event experience opportunities for fans.
• The International Olympic Committee (“IOC”), FIFA (football) and World Athletics (track & field) all have moved to the development of modular stadiums for their global events.
Source: ICC
England will be defending the Twenty20 World Cup title they won, defeating Pakistan in the final in Melbourne in 2022.
No stranger to mega events
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said: “Nassau County is excited to partner with the ICC to host the Men’s T20 World Cup, one of the most popular sporting events in the world. With more than one billion fans worldwide, this event will attract fans from all around the world to Eisenhower Park.
“Whether it be PGA events, record breaking concerts in our parks, or the annual Belmont Stakes, we are no stranger to hosting large scale events on the world stage. I look forward to bringing our many diverse communities together to watch some of the best cricket in the world, right here in Nassau County.”
A number of other venues around the USA, including George Mason University in Washington, the new home of MLC team Washington Freedom, have also been identified as potential venues for pre-event matches and training.
Ireland, Scotland and Papua New Guinea sealed their spots for the tournament through regional qualifiers, with Americas (one spot), Asia (two spots) and Africa (two spots) qualifying competitions to be held in near future.
Four groups
The 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup will be hosted jointly by the West Indies and the USA. 20 teams will be divided into four groups of five each for the first round. Top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super eight stage.
In Super eight, teams will be split into two groups of four each, with top two sides from two groups entering the semi-finals. Hosts West Indies and USA, as well as Australia, defending champions England, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh have already qualified for the competition.
