In March this year, the owners of Major League Cricket (MLC) announced plans to invest around US$110 million (about Rs.875 billion) in the construction and renovation of eight stadiums across the United States of America. In May, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was announced as the lead investor in a $44 million fundraiser from MLC, with an additional $76 million pledged, mostly for cricket infrastructure upgrades across the country. The Knight Riders group is already among the early stakeholders of the six-team MLC, which is set to begin next year.
The International Cricket Council has been invited to submit a proposal for the inclusion of cricket in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics this month, with a final decision awaited at next year’s International Olympic Committee meeting in Mumbai. Also, the 2024 T20 World Championship will be hosted by the USA along with the West Indies.
Cricket has made sporadic attempts to break into the massive US sports market for at least the better part of the last two decades, but only now, with the backing of big names and big bucks, does the hunt seem to have picked up some pace.
🚧 WORK HAS BEGUN IN GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS 🚧
We are pleased to announce that Phase 1️⃣ of the $20M transition began this week 🏗️ Our flagship MLC stadium is scheduled to open in Spring 2023 and will be the largest cricket facility in the US 🏟️ 🇺🇸
Full Story ➡️ https://t.co/SePAhQ4c3e pic.twitter.com/thXCZUd0QO
— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) July 26, 2022
With proposed new, renovated and repurposed stadiums, a significant increase in grass pitches, a 26-team minor league aimed at increasing grassroots participation and attempts to woo the average American inside and outside stadiums, Cricket hopes to finally make it in the land of his bat-and-ball cousin – baseball.
The main challenge remains daunting – the potential of the overall market is unquestionable, but the game itself still isn’t a huge draw in the US, outside of the South Asian and other cricket-connected diaspora, of course.
“The US is second only to India in digital consumption of cricket content. There is a huge market, which may initially consist mainly of the diaspora. The best way to describe the US market is by looking at the world’s number one media market combined with the second most watched sport… In the medium to long term, we need to get the average American sports fan interested in T20 cricket or cricket in general.” Venky Mysore, CEO of Knight Riders, told Livemint.
Tom Dunmore, Vice President (Marketing) at MLC, says: “The South Asian expat cricket fan is the obvious number one target, but we know in the long-term holistic view of the game we need to reach a new audience here and delight them new fans for the sport.
“There’s still a perception here that cricket is obsolete, there’s no doubt about that. The biggest obstacle is that a lot of people just don’t understand the basics of the game, the rules and how to play it.”
information and totals
From setting up explainer kiosks on site to reaching out to social media influencers, Cricket is trying to get the message across that this isn’t some snooty, quirky British pastime, but something good enough to do with popular American sports compete for attention.
🏗️ Texas is currently working on the first world-class MLC cricket venue in the USA 🏟️🇺🇸
The facility will have 7,000 permanent seats and can be expanded to a capacity of 15,000 for major events 🙌
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/dFoljpJ0y5
📹 courtesy of @gp_tx pic.twitter.com/0c519a2Xuv— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) July 26, 2022
“We brought in a lot of new fans at the Minor League Finals in Morrisville, North Carolina. We have told the media this is a fun event, cricket may not be what you think it is fast and athletic, T20 cricket is shorter than a baseball game, come and experience it, you love a bat – and-ball game already and the ball is in play a lot here and it’s exciting to watch,” Dunmore told The Indian Express.
“Young Americans are increasingly following international sports, be it football, rugby or F1, and cricket fits into that diversity as the second most popular sport in the world. We’re starting to see these audiences engaging with the game. We also work with YouTube influencers who are big in baseball. Jomboy (James O’Brien) is one of the greats who has devoted himself to cricket.
“It’s also about educating people about the sport. We have our Cricket 101 explanation zones at some minor league games where fans can get information on how the game is played and terminology.”
This battle for attention won’t be won overnight, but cricket now enjoys more visibility on video platforms than it did a few decades ago, and that’s a boost. “If we can break down some of the barriers like terminology and get people excited about the sport, the stars, the action and the storylines, we’re going to see some success with new audiences,” says Dunmore.
Build and upgrade
The US still only has one ICC-recognized international venue in Miami, where India recently played a couple of T20Is against the West Indies. MLC is proposing to build new ones in the major cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle as part of a strategic partnership agreement with USA Cricket, the game’s governing body in the country. The existing facilities in Morrisville and Houston will receive additional facilities and capacity, but the facility targeted as the “home of US cricket” is AirHogs Stadium in Grand Prairie, Dallas.
Appropriately, it’s a baseball field that’s being converted into a cricket facility after MLC secures a long-term lease. It was home to the Texas AirHogs, a minor league team that collapsed during the Covid pandemic.
“The flagship stadium in Grand Prairie will be ready by next year. It’s the first time a baseball stadium has been converted into a cricket stadium. This will certainly be a fantastic opportunity to host World Cup games. We’ll also have the upgrade in North Carolina and Houston and then of course the existing venue in Florida which has already hosted top level international cricket.
“These four are certainly good options and whether we can complete another venue in time for 2024 remains to be seen. It’s certainly a tight schedule,” Dunmore says of the venues likely to host T20 World Cup matches.
Mysore has also previously stated that the MLC is likely to start at the existing venues and then expand across the country as new stadiums are gradually built.
“Construction takes time, especially when you work with local governments on the land and on development. In both San Jose, which is south of San Francisco, and in Orange County, in the greater Los Angeles area, we have agreements in place to finalize development plans with local government agencies,” Dunmore said.
“Right now we are doing our due diligence with them and developing our infrastructure plans and hope to make some progress by the end of this year. The demographics in these areas are very strong for cricket.”
Start right
Fan engagement and stadium facilities aside, a fundamental requirement for cricket – the pitch – is another challenge. Not only are natural grass surfaces difficult to install and prepare, maintaining them throughout the seasons can be a nightmare as experienced curators are hard to find in the US.
MLC is opting for hybrid pitches instead, as part of an agreement with an Australian company. These are a combination of natural soil and artificial turf, allowing for low maintenance but also retaining the near-common variability in the ball’s behavior after pitching.
“Test match cricket won’t be played there any time soon, but you can play professional T20 cricket and that’s really important for us. It’s a huge country, so installing grass pitches in dozens of places is difficult. Hybrid pitches are much easier to maintain after installation. It will accelerate our ability to further develop the sport.”
Hybrids are scheduled to be installed in 20 locations this year in the Bay Area, New Jersey, Chicago, New York City, St. Louis, Michigan, Seattle, Philadelphia, Dallas, Orlando, Ohio, Boston and Atlanta. After several false starts this century, cricket seems better prepared to pursue the American Dream.