Nassau County International Cricket Stadium
 During the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup | |
 | |
| Address | 1899 Park Boulevard East Meadow, New York 11554 U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°43′48″N 73°34′31″W / 40.7300536°N 73.5752819°W |
| Public transit |   Westbury[1] NICE: n70 (Hempstead Tpke at East Meadow Plaza)[2] |
| Owner | International Cricket Council |
| Operator | T20 World Cup USA, Inc. |
| Seating type | Stadium seating |
| Capacity | 34,000 |
| Surface | Kentucky bluegrass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | June 1, 2024 |
| Closed | June 12, 2024 |
| Architect | Populous |
| Builder |
|
| Ground information | |
| Establishment | 2024 |
| Tenants | 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup |
| End names | |
| Sir Sam Clark End Charlie Whitaker End | |
| International information | |
| First T20I | June 3, 2024: Sri Lanka v  South Africa |
| Last T20I | June 12, 2024: United States v  India |
| As of June 11, 2024 Source: Cricinfo | |
Nassau County International Cricket Stadium was a temporary cricket stadium that was built on the grounds of Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, New York, in Nassau County on Long Island.
It was a modular stadium which served as a temporary venue for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, during which it hosted eight group stage matches — including, most prominently, the India–Pakistan match. Following the matches, the modular architecture was dismantled while leaving the outfield intact as a legacy, and its natural grass drop-in pitch replaced by artificial turf. The venue was overseen by T20 World Cup USA — the host committee representing matches hosted in the United States during the tournament;[3] it marked the first temporary venue ever used in an ICC World Cup tournament.
The stadium received mixed reviews from players during its initial matches, who noted its slow outfield, and an uneven pitch that impacted ball behavior. Work was made to smoothen the pitch for subsequent matches.
Background
[edit]In November 2021, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup would be played in the West Indies and the United States.[4] A joint bid was submitted by Cricket West Indies and USA Cricket following two years of preparation, forming part of a strategic partnership between the two associations.[5][6]
In July 2023, the ICC shortlisted four venues in the United States, which included Lauderhill, Florida (Central Broward Park), Morrisville, North Carolina (Church Street Park), Grand Prairie, Texas (Grand Prairie Stadium), and a temporary stadium at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York City.[7] The proposed site was criticized by Bronx residents; a group known as the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance cited potential ecological impact, and concerns over the tournament preventing public access to the park for an extended period.[8][9] With the final announcement of the U.S. host cities on September 22, 2023, the ICC relocated the temporary New York stadium to Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, New York, located in Nassau County on Long Island.[10][11][12]
The need for a temporary stadium was necessitated by the relative lack of cricket stadiums in the United States, itself a byproduct of cricket usually being considered by U.S. audiences to be a niche, international sport. Its most loyal fanbases in the United States come from the diaspora of regions — particularly South Asia — where the sport is mainstream. A domestic T20 league — Major League Cricket — held its inaugural season in 2023.[13] Nassau County will receive an estimated US$2.7 million in direct revenue from the tournament, which would leave the Eisenhower Park with a legacy of permanent improvements to host large cricket tournaments henceforth.[14][15]
The New York metropolitan area — the United States' most populous region — is home of the largest metropolitan Indian population outside of Asia.[16][17][18][3][19] The Nassau County hamlet of Hicksville, New York also has a significant and rapidly growing South Asian population, and has been described as a "hub" of the region's Indian-American community.[20][21][22] Among the matches that were hosted by the stadium was the group stage match between India and Pakistan,[23] one of the most significant international rivalries in cricket.[24] The stadium was the first temporary venue to have ever been used in an ICC World Cup.[25]
Design and construction
[edit]The stadium's design was unveiled by the ICC and Nassau County Executive, Bruce Blakeman,[26][27][28] on January 17, 2024, with construction beginning that week. Designed by Populous, the 34,000-seat stadium utilized a modular architecture constructed by Arena Event Services, including grandstands, facilities for players and the media, and hospitality boxes.[29] Its grandstands had previously been deployed for events such as golf tournaments and Formula One's Las Vegas Grand Prix.[30][31][19]
The stadium's outfield, drainage, and pitch construction were overseen by The LandTek Group—a company that has worked on playing surfaces for New York's Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, and various NFL stadiums. The outfield used Kentucky bluegrass, and the drop-in pitch used Tahoma bermudagrass surfaces prepared in Florida by LandTek subsidiary LTG Sports Turf One, in consultation with the Adelaide Oval's head groundskeeper Damian Hough.[32][3]
The pitches posed particular challenges due to the limited timeframe, and the logistical aspects of the construction process; only six of the ten trays were shipped from Adelaide, necessitating that the remainder be built locally. The grass had to be grown in Florida's warmer climate due to New York's cold winter, and the pitches had to be transported by semi-trailers with blankets to protect the grass and soil from wind and the different climate conditions along the East Coast. Hough remarked that "I've never moved a pitch further than from Adelaide Oval to Karen Rolton Oval, so moving them for two days on a fleet of semi-trailers certainly throws up a few different issues."[32][3]
By late-April 2024, the outfield grass had been laid, preparations were being made for the installation of the turf, and most of the grandstands had been installed.[29] The stadium was inaugurated by Jamaican sprinter and tournament ambassador Usain Bolt on May 15;[33] as test events, the stadium hosted "community cricket events" in late-May 2024, followed by a pre-tournament warmup match between Bangladesh and India on June 1.[29][33] It hosted its first tournament match on June 3, between South Africa and Sri Lanka.[19][34] The stands and modular infrastructure were dismantled after its final match on June 12, 2024;[35] the cricket ground remains intact, but the drop-in pitch was replaced by artificial turf to ease maintenance.[19][3]
Despite the short turnaround time between completion and its first match, ICC head of events Chris Tetley stated that he was confident in the project due to his trust in the companies involved, and that warm-up events would allow the organizers to "know from an operational perspective how all of the functional teams that will come together to run the stadium need to interact on an event day with people coming through the turnstiles."[19] ESPNcricinfo observed that the Nassau County stadium would be the first venue to have ever hosted an ICC event without having previously hosted an international match beforehand.[19]
Field conditions
[edit]Following the South Africa – Sri Lanka match, pundits and former players perceived the pitch to have been uneven with inconsistent and high bounce, and that the thick outfield grass was slowing the balls;[36][37] the match was a low-scoring affair which saw Sri Lanka post their lowest-ever total in a T20I, and the lowest combined run rate of any Men's T20 World Cup match. In posts on social media, former India player Irfan Pathan described the pitch as being "not ideal" for Twenty20, while former SA captain Faf du Plessis stated that its wicket was "spicy".[38][37]
South Africa bowler Anrich Nortje stated in a post-match press conference that the balls were a bit "up and down", but that he enjoyed the atmosphere, felt that a game did not always need to have a high run total in order to be "entertaining", and suggested that the outfield could flatten out more over the course of subsequent matches.[38] Following further criticism after the Ireland – India match, the ICC acknowledged the inconsistency of the pitches, and stated that the stadium's crew was working to "remedy the situation and deliver the best possible surfaces for the remaining matches".[39]
Hough noted that grass had been growing in some of the cracks in the pitches' clay, while the overcast conditions during the South Africa – Sri Lanka match also influenced the behavior.[36] On subsequent matches, topsoil was used to fill in the cracks in the clay, and the surfaces were smoothened; Ireland captain Paul Stirling noted that the pitch felt completely different during their match against Canada in comparison to their previous match, and had a less grassy appearance.[36]
2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup matches
[edit]v
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- India won the toss and elected to field.
- Rohit Sharma (Ind) scored his 4,000th run in T20Is[41] and 1,000th run in the T20 World Cup,[42] becoming the second Indian to achieve both feats after Virat Kohli. He also completed 600 sixes in international cricket, 100 sixes in ICC tournaments and 300 wins in international cricket.[43]
- Rishabh Pant (Ind) scored his 1,000th run in T20Is.
v
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- Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
- This was Canada's first ever victory at a T20 World Cup.
v
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- South Africa won the toss and elected to field.
v
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- Pakistan won the toss and elected to field.
- Mohammad Rizwan (Pak) played in his 100th T20I match.[44]
- The match attendance for the game was 34,028, which is the largest turnout for a cricket game in the United States.
v
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- South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
v
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- India won the toss and elected to field.
- India qualified for the Super 8 as a result of this match.
- This was the last ever match on this ground.
References
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- ^ Gonzalez, Andres (January 18, 2024). "Nassau County International Cricket Stadium". Stadiums World. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Spangler, Nicholas (April 1, 2024). "Creating the perfect stadium, playing surface critical to June's T20 World Cup cricket matches on Long Island". Newsday. Archived from the original on April 1, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
- ^ "USA to stage T20 World Cup: 2024–2031 ICC Men's tournament hosts confirmed". International Cricket Council. November 16, 2021. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
- ^ "Cricket West Indies and USA Cricket hail successful joint bid to host ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2024". USA Cricket. November 16, 2021. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
- ^ Little, Archie (April 7, 2023). "ICC Inspects USA Venues For Cricket's T20 World Cup". Boxscore World Sportswire. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- ^ Gollapudi, Nagraj (July 28, 2023). "Next Men's T20 World Cup set to be played from June 4 to 30, 2024". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ Custodio, Jonathan (August 21, 2023). "Dozens of Bronx Groups Object to 34,000-Seat Cricket Stadium in Van Cortlandt Park". THE CITY – NYC News. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ Overmyer, Steve (September 1, 2023). "Temporary stadium to be built in the Bronx for Cricket World Cup, sparking mixed reactions from community". CBS New York. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ "State of the art Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York unveiled ahead of Men's T20 World Cup". www.icc-cricket.com. March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
- ^ Botello, Camille (September 20, 2023). "Cricket stadium opponents relieved with ICC's decision to nix Van Cortlandt Park proposal, opt for Long Island site". Bronx Times. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ Solis, Marcus (September 20, 2023). "Cricket T20 World Cup venue to be built in Nassau County, not Bronx like first proposed". ABC7 New York. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ Nerkar, Santul (October 24, 2023). "Media Companies Eye Cricket-Loving Diaspora in the U.S." The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ McLogan, Jennifer (March 19, 2024). "Long Island park set to host Cricket World Cup match in June". CBS New York. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
- ^ Vallone, Jordan (April 25, 2024). "East Meadow, Salisbury residents address concerns regarding Cricket World Cup". Long Island Herald. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
Nassau County will receive around US$2.7 million in direct revenue from the tournament.
- ^ "Supplemental Table 2. Persons Obtaining Lawful Permanent Resident Status by Leading Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) of Residence and Region and Country of Birth: Fiscal Year 2014". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2013 Supplemental Table 2". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2012 Supplemental Table 2". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f Gollapudi, Nagraj (January 17, 2024). "ICC confirms New York's Eisenhower Park will not host international games before T20 WC". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
- ^ Phillips, Ted (September 8, 2021). "Asians outpace other residents in Jericho and Hicksville, census shows". Newsday. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
- ^ Vallone, Jordan (March 29, 2024). "Nassau County is gearing up for ICC T20 Cricket World Cup". Herald Community Newspapers. Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
- ^ Donahue-Smukler, Ann (May 29, 2020). "Hicksville a diverse, thriving community poised for development". Newsday. Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ^ Burnton, Simon (December 14, 2023). "New York to host India v Pakistan Clash in 2024 T20 World Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ^ Wigmore, Tim (June 16, 2019). "Why India vs Pakistan is the biggest game in all sport: When politics, passion and national identity collide". The Daily Telegraph'. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- ^ Hernández, Kristian (June 11, 2024). "Men's T20 Cricket World Cup: PMY Group, Populous Get Nassau County International Cricket Stadium Ready in Record Time". Sports Video Group. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ Ferrette, Candice (May 21, 2024). "Nassau residents getting first dibs on tickets to cricket World Cup events". Newsday. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
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- ^ McCormick, Bret (January 18, 2024). "ICC unveils N.Y.'s T20 World Cup cricket stadium". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ Spangler, Nicholas (January 18, 2024). "Nassau unveils renderings of 34,000-seat cricket stadium for World Cup tournament at Eisenhower Park". Newsday. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Ramsey, Andrew (April 10, 2024). "Inside Adelaide's pioneering role in New York's World Cup pitch". Cricket.com.au. Cricket Australia. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
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- ^ Sánchez, Jesus Lopez (March 6, 2024). "Nassau Cricket Stadium marks first month of construction with timelapse". www.insidethegames.biz. Archived from the original on March 30, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ "New York's Nassau County Stadium set for demolition". The Week. June 13, 2024. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ a b c Gollapudi, Nagraj (June 8, 2024). "Explainer - what's wrong with the T20 World Cup pitches in New York?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ a b Rana, Yaseen (June 3, 2024). "Pundits Criticize 'Terrible' Drop-In New York Pitch After Wickets Tumble In SA-SL Clash | T20 World Cup 2024". Wisden. Archived from the original on June 3, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ a b ""Not always nice to go out, face balls jumping up"". Lokmat Times. June 4, 2024. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ "ICC working to improve quality of pitches at New York venue". ESPNcricinfo. June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
- ^ "Sri Lanka bundled out for 77 against SA, their lowest total in T20I history". The Business Standard. June 3, 2024. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ Chowdhury, Sabyasachi (June 5, 2024). "T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma becomes 3rd batter to 4000 runs in Men's T20Is". India Today. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
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