American professional cricket is moving its governing body to North Texas. USA Cricket will also be taking over what used to be the former Texas AirHogs baseball stadium in Grand Prairie according to the Dallas Morning News.
The former minor league outfit's 80,000 square foot stadium is undergoing $13 million in renovations that should be ready for some 5,400 fans sometime in 2022. These renovations include a new field and additional restrooms amongst other modifications.
Not only will this stadium be home to USA Cricket moving forward, but also one of the six founding teams of the newly founded Major League Cricket (MLC).
"As the first Major League Cricket stadium in the United States, Grand Prairie represents a seminal moment for the sport in America, and we are incredibly excited to partner with the City of Grand Prairie to bring Major League Cricket to Dallas," said Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan, co-founders of ACE and MLC in a statement last November. "Grand Prairie’s centralized location in the U.S. and the thriving Texas cricketing community, allied with the quality of the facility, made it the perfect site for us and we are certain that this is the beginning of a fruitful long-term partnership with the City that will bring much success."
"Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world behind soccer, with a large and growing audience in the states. We look forward to an exciting future with our partners," said Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen.
The stadium will also be used as a high performance center for both the USA's Men's and Women's national teams alongside youth and other cricket squads per USA Cricket.
Cricket is currently the second most-watched sport in the world, and according to USA Cricket: "more than 150,000 regular players across the country, with roughly 20 million fans and more than 4 million regular viewers of cricket."
The United States is bidding to be joint-host the 2024 ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, which organizers say could be profitable for Grand Prairie.
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