The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to announce that New York will also host the 2024 T20 World Cup. Notably, the much-awaited tournament will be co-hosted by the United States of America and the West Indies.
The venue will be announced by the ICC as a 34,000-seater temporary building located 30 miles east of New York City. It will be built in East Meadow, a hamlet on Long Island, 30 miles east of Manhattan, in the 930-acre Eisenhower Park. It is expected that the venue will also play host to the highly anticipated match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.
The announcement is expected to be made after serious negotiations between the ICC and New York City officials to build a comparable pop arena in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx fell through. Following strong opposition from some of the residents and one of the cricket leagues that is based out of the same park, the officials were forced to abandon the plans for the Bronx. However, ICC carried out conversations with the Nassau County officials and the administrators of Eisenhower Park.
The ICC has been clamouring for cricket to gain traction in the United States. Meanwhile, the country has a two-pronged appeal in that it is the world’s largest media market as well as the world’s fastest-growing cricket market. In terms of cash worth, the US media rights for ICC tournaments are thought to be among the top four countries, and the apex body’s selection of the country as co-hosts was one such affirmative measure.
The Eisenhower Park agreement is likely to quench many of the ICC’s concerns about venues in the US. The ICC has granted the United States around 20 games, which will now be split among the three facilities. Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, another MLC venue, is also thought to be in the running to host a few games in the showpiece event. The facility, on the other hand, lacks any permanent structure or training facilities.