City Hall Pitches 34,000-Seat Cricket Stadium in Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park

By: Jonathan Custudio – the city.nyc

The Adams administration has reached out to officials in the Bronx about an ambitious plan to erect a 34,000-seat stadium in Van Cortlandt Park to host games in next year’s edition of one of cricket’s premier global tournaments.

The “temporary” and “modular” structure would host matches next June in the 2024 T20 World Cup held by the International Cricket Council, according to local officials who have been briefed on the plan by the Adams administration and an ICC proposal obtained by THE CITY.

The Cup will be held for the first time in the West Indies and the United States next year, in an attempt to grow the relatively small U.S. audience for the world’s second-most popular sport.

While the Dubai-based ICC has not yet announced host cities for next year’s event, its proposal for Van Cortlandt Park — labeled “confidential” — says that “it is likely that one or more of the highest profile fixtures in the tournament would be staged at the proposed NYC venue.”

Though they are not opposing it, Bronx elected officials told THE CITY that they have serious concerns about the plan that they heard about from the Adams administration and that would require turning over park land to a ticket-selling venue that would hold nearly as many people as Yankee Stadium or the city’s two professional basketball arenas combined. The stadium would need to be erected in less than five months, starting in January, in close proximity to the graves of enslaved Africans and likely displacing the 12 cricket pitches in the park that New Yorkers use now.

A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams provided a general statement of support for hosting T20 World Cup games in the five boroughs, without answering a list of specific questions about the proposal.

“New York City remains hopeful to be selected as one of the International Cricket Council’s host cities,” Brad Weekes, spokesperson for Mayor Adams. told THE CITY.  Cricket is one of the world’s most popular sports, and it only makes sense to host their tournament in the melting pot that is New York City.”

Weekes added that, “If the International Cricket Council chooses New York City, we will explore all locations to host this once in a generation tournament.”

The ICC did not respond to a request for comment from THE CITY.

Cricket, wildly popular in the footprint of the former British empire, is played with a bat and a ball on a pitch where batters attempt to drive in runs and bowlers and fielders try to stop them. Bowlers, similar to pitchers in baseball, throw the ball to the batters.

There are three formats of cricket, T-20 being the fastest version in which a match can be completed in a few hours. In test matches, the original format, a match can take up to five days.

Cricket’s popularity has been growing in New York City. In 2008, the New York City Department of Education made cricket a varsity sport, which drew 14 teams – now 30 – and 650 children across every borough excluding Staten Island. In 2021, the New York State Legislature enacted a law to officially promote the sport.

According to the ICC’s proposal, construction of the stadium and an adjacent “fan zone” with “multiple food/beverage options, merchandise stores and entertainment” would take place between January and May of next year, with nearly 20 acres of the park eventually fenced off to allow for that. (thecity.nyc)