The venue situation in the United States continues to paint a worrying picture and ICC’s (International Cricket Council) ambitious plan of hosting 17 2024 T20 World Cup fixtures, including India vs Pakistan, is already swimming in troubled waters.
Except for Lauderhill and Dallas, which recently hosted the Major League Cricket (MLC) fixtures, there aren’t any “ready facilities” with arrangements for spectators in the USA. Yes, there are plenty of cricket fields, currently being used for the Minor League Cricket (MiLC), but you can’t really host a World Cup fixture there. Or can you?
You probably can, if you’re someone important at the ICC and have already “half-sold” the American dream.
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The global cricket body, since late last year, has been exploring green fields in the region and looking at the possibility of turning them into temporary modular venues. A former USA Cricket official says the hunt last year was only around green fields with provision for parking and ample space to place modular stands.
“A lot of areas were explored by the ICC during their trip where they were exploring venues. From what I last heard, a place in New Jersey, which kind of ticked all ICC checkboxes was suggested by us but it didn’t quite make the shortlist. To be honest, they were only looking for green spaces, parks to be precise, in areas with good transportation networks,” says a former USA Cricket official.
What is a modular venue and how will it meet the ICC checklist?
Get in some modular stands around a green field, build some makeshift commentary boxes, make provision for dressing rooms and voila – a stadium is ready! There is no rocket science involved in turning a green field into a modular stadium but getting it to meet the ICC checklist for the World Cup is going to be a major task.
“Let’s understand this clearly – getting the ICC nod for hosting an ODI/T20I/Test is completely different from getting the nod for a World Cup fixture. Hosting a World Cup fixture is a different beast altogether and there is a long checklist for that to happen,” says a senior ICC official.
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Citing examples of how the big Test centres in India are undergoing modifications to meet ICC requirements for the 50-over World Cup later this year, the official added there is a long list, especially for multi-nation events.
“The basics are having ample space for dressing rooms for both teams. Then comes space for the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), space for the dope test centre, a separate area for the operations team, and the broadcast and logistics team. The list to be honest is long,” adds the official.
In the last 7-8 years, the ICC had to make extra provisions for radio boxes, used for commentary, for the various rights holders and they need to be aptly placed with decent vision from an appropriate angle.
“Earlier there used to be space for media – say around 150-200 journalists in the press box. Now, in the last 7-8 years, there has been an increased need for separate radio boxes, apart from the broadcaster boxes, for commentary. These are for the various rights holders. Also, say, for instance, Sky has broadcast rights. We give them the world feed but also need to give them the provision for calling the game from the venue. And the provision has to be made say from a long-on, long-off kind of position. Can’t place it anywhere – say behind deep square leg. Together these are like at least 10-11 boxes,” says the ICC official.
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Additionally, any venue shortlisted for the World Cup needs to have adequate drainage facility, provision for underground wiring for the broadcaster and a natural pitch. The ICC is okay with the drop-in pitches but they must be natural.
“And the last bit is the venue must have a good drainage facility and also have provision for underground wiring for the broadcaster. Nowadays, the concept of drop-in pitches is being used so that’s fine but the pitch has to be natural, and not artificial,” explains the official.
Work is currently underway in almost all the World Cup venues in India to adhere to these requirements but there seems to be a lot of optimism, with a dash of obstinacy, that it will be a cakewalk in the USA.
If the ICC persists with their ambitious plans in the USA, there are resources and companies in the region which specialise in building modular structures and can help them pull this off. Curator Dave Agnew, who worked on the Grand Prairie stadium in Texas for MLC, has a good reputation in the industry and specialises in converting green parks into playing surfaces. But the big question remains: is ICC willing to take that big a risk with a T20 World Cup?
The plan of hosting India vs Pakistan at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, New York has already hit major roadblocks after opposition from various groups in the region. This is months before actual work on the venue was set to begin. This is the risk a modular venue carries. Work can only begin closer to the tournament and last-minute challenges and objections, similar to the ones faced in the Bronx, could well put the entire tournament at risk.
Another stakeholder, the most important one, is likely to suffer in this modular arrangement. The broadcaster. With nine months to go for the 2024 T20 World Cup, the official broadcaster of the tournament is yet to do a venue recce. Why? Because there are no ready venues yet. In case the modular plan persists, the broadcaster will have to wait a few more months before doing the first round of inspection.
The first real challenge is to get a facility ready for the World Cup and then the next big challenge is going to be having enough time for a pressure test. Most importantly, an India vs Pakistan pressure test.