INTERNATIONAL CRICKET COUNCIL (ICC) 2024 T20 MEN’S WORLD CUP

This past June, I was the venue manager for the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium (NCICS), which hosted eight games and a warmup game (nine games in 12 days) for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 2024. It was quite an experience.

Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened format of cricket that lasts between three to four hours.

Test Cricket is the sport’s longest format, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form; often referred to as the “ultimate test” of a cricketer’s technique, endurance, and temperament. It is a format of international cricket where teams, represent their country - in white clothing, competing in a match lasting up to five days with six hours of play each day.

The ICC announcement that the Men’s T20 World Cup would be held in the United States and West Indies was made in November 2021, but the physical construction of the NCICS did not begin until February 2024. Eisenhower Park (930 acres) in East Meadow, Long Island, New York (30 miles east of Manhattan) was selected as a site in December 2023. The stadium construction took 106 days and was dismantled in six weeks. This project was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken by the ICC - the first time this event was hosted in the United States.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE NASSAU COUNTY INTERNATIONAL CRICKET STADIUM

The NCICS was a modular temporary stadium. Following the games, the stadium was dismantled and removed while leaving the field intact as a legacy, and its natural grass drop-in pitch was replaced with synthetic turf.

The venue was designed by Populous and constructed by Arena Event Services, which included grandstands, facilities for players and the media, and premium hospitality areas. The Parker Company managed the project on behalf of T20 Inc. The grandstands had been previously deployed for events, such as: the Waste Management Phoenix Open (golf) and the 2023 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. The grandstands consisted of tens of thousands of steel girders, assembled into 40 rows of seating up to 75 feet high.

The LandTek Group was hired to construct and manage the stadium’s field, including the outfield and pitch (the grass area where the bowlers ball (throw) to the batsman). LandTek have constructed the fields at Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, Inter Miami stadium/training fields, and other professional, collegiate, high school, and recreational fields throughout the East Coast. The outfield consisted of Kentucky bluegrass, and the drop-in pitch consisted of Tahoma bermudagrass, grown in Florida and trucked to Long Island. The movement of the grass involved 20 tractor-trailers over two days.

Sustainability was crucial for this project. All elements used in the construction will be reutilized for future sporting events, such as golf tournaments, the 2028 Olympic games, in Los Angeles, and Formula 1 races in the United States.

Building a temporary facility for a major sports event or tournament isn’t a brand-new concept. More than a decade ago, the basketball arena in London’s Olympic Park was constructed and opened in 2011, before the Summer Olympics and Paralympics, but it was demolished in January 2013.

The effort was repeated less than two years ago around the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar: Stadium 974 (country code of Qatar) in Doha’s Ras Abu Aboud district was outfitted with removable shipping containers at its exterior and became the first temporary venue in the competition’s 94-year history.

VENUES HOSTING GAMES:

United States (16 Group Stage games)

• Central Broward Park and Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida: 4 games, capacity – 25,000.
• Grand Prairie Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas: 4 games – capacity 15,000.
• Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, East Meadow, New York: 8 games plus a warmup match – capacity 34,000. This temporary venue had the largest capacity of the nine venues that hosted the T20 Men’s World Cup.

West Indies (Group Stage, Semi-Finals and Final games)

• Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados: Capacity – 28,000.
• Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia: Capacity – 15,000.
• Arnos Vale Stadium, Kingstown, Saint Vincent: Capacity – 18,000.
• Brian Lara Cricket Academy, San Fernando, Trinidad: Capacity – 15,000.
• Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua: Capacity – 10,000.
• Guyana National Stadium, Providence, Guyana: Capacity – 20,000.

Countries that played games at the NCICS:

• Bangladesh (one game)
• Canada (two games)
• India (three games)
• Ireland (two games)
• Netherlands (one game)
• Pakistan (two games)
• South Africa (three games)
• Sri Lanka (one game)
• USA (one game)

India vs Pakistan: 34,028 (highest attendance in the tournament).
India vs United States: 31,722.

Total attendance for the eight games was 165,000 (the two highest-attended games in the tournament were India vs. Pakistan and India vs. USA).

Final match: India defeated South Africa at the Kensington Oval.

VIEWERSHIP OF GAMES:

The viewership of the India and Pakistan game on Sunday, June 9th, was 256 million in India alone. To put into context, viewership for Super Bowl LVIII (2024) was 123.7 million worldwide. Cricket is the world’s second most-watched sport, with football (soccer) being the first.

CONCLUSION

There were operational issues during the games that were managed daily, but the games were successful, and the attendees enjoyed the experience. Before the end of each game, I would position myself at the main gate to watch the egress of the fans. Cricket fans are very passionate about the sport, and their smiles and jubilation were special, making those who managed and worked the event feel like they made a difference.

The T20 tournament was one of the most challenging events I have worked on in my 37-year career in the sports and entertainment facilities and event management industry. I moved to Long Island for 16 days and worked at least 14 hours on game days.

I never thought I would be involved in working a cricket game, no less than nine games in 12 days, but it was a unique, educational, and worthwhile experience.

Posted September 17, 2022