NEW CRICKET STADIUM
Currently, there are high-level plans to construct a 6,000-8,000-capacity seater stadium with an ability to further enhance the capacity to 15,000. © Getty
USA Cricket’s strategic partners American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) and the county of Santa Clara have agreed to enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement (ENA) to design, negotiate and seek approvals for a state-of-the-art cricket stadium project in the city of San Jose. The proposed 14-acre site to build the stadium project is located in the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, a 157 acre stretch of land in the heart of the bay area that showcases big-ticket events year-round.
The proposed venue will be situated on a prime piece of real estate in the Silicon Valley with the Apple and Google Headquarters only a 15 and 20-minute drive away respectively. The plush location is expected to engage new fans and drive cricket’s popularity beyond the realms of the South Asian diaspora.
The exclusive negotiating agreement, effective for the next 12 months will allow both parties to zero upon the nitty gritties of the overall project. Currently, there are high-level plans to construct a 6,000-8,000-capacity seater stadium with an ability to further enhance the capacity to 15,000 with temporary seating. According to sources, the $50M stadium development project will be undertaken in phases with an aim to wrap up phase one of the construction project before the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. It is learnt that if everything falls into place, ACE is optimistic to start the construction by early January next year with a race against time to get it match ready before May 2024.
The proposed stadium will also be home to Major League Cricket’s (MLC) San Francisco Bay area franchise. If the development agreement takes shape, it will be a major shot in the arm for cricketing infrastructure in the US after major plans to revamp a Dallas baseball stadium into a prime cricketing location were announced last year. It is understood that Raleigh, Fort Lauderdale, and Los Angeles will join the San Francisco Bay area and Dallas as host cities for the USA leg of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Cricbuzz understands as part of their agreement with USA Cricket, ACE, the owners of MLC have pledged to develop and maintain at least 6 ICC grade stadiums with an overall capacity between 6,000-12,000. Apart from making headway in the stadium infrastructure, ever since the advent of ACE, the US cricketing fraternity has seen the number of turf wicket grounds soar to over 20 with around 4 mushrooming in the Bay area alone. A far cry from the erstwhile USACA days.
The Bay area boasts of a thriving cricketing landscape with over 100 senior men’s leather ball teams and around 40 youth teams participating in the Northern California Cricket Association and the Bay Area Cricket Alliance. Apart from a plethora of leather ball teams, over 300 teams participate year-round in the various tape ball leagues. The Bay area is also home to 3 Minor League Cricket teams: Silicon Valley Strikers, Golden State Grizzlies, and the East Bay Blazers.
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