City invests $6 million to build new pitch, stadium.
By American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: The Americas may really be the last frontier for cricket to embed itself as a major sporting event, and if the city of Indianapolis has its way, that goal may be possible within this decade: the city, which faces a $50 million budget deficit, has taken a bold step by investing in a new $6 million cricket pitch and stadium to conform to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) certification for an international venue, and has signed a three-year deal with the United States of America Cricket Association (USACC) for an annual amateur cricket competition, starting from August of next year.
Indianapolis Major Greg Ballard, a Republican, is betting on a sport to rejuvenate the city’s economic fortunes despite the knowledge that cricket has never really taken wings in the US despite several initiatives over the years.
The big initiatives include a certified ICC stadium in Fort Lauderdale in Florida, which the USACC calls home and made a big stride towards becoming a regular venue for the sport when they hosted a game between the West Indies and New Zealand last year which according to Darren Beazley, the chief executive of the USACC, was tuned into by a billion people on television.
Despite all that, Florida has failed to draw in big talent from overseas to play there and promote the game, and that has become increasingly difficult as the international calendar for players has become crowded because of T20 obligations and contracts.
However, Ballard may be onto something smart as cricket has recorded overwhelming live audiences both on the field as well as on television and online, with the introduction of T20 cricket, which in more way than one has the semblance of a baseball game in the excitement it generates and the time frame it encompasses.
According to reports, the new venue for cricket in Indianapolis is not only going to be confined to cricket but will host several other sports like Gaelic football and rugby, to draw in an international audience to the city.
“I don’t think there’s any city that’s trying to put all these pieces together, but there’s always a first-mover advantage for those who try to do it right,” Ballard told the Associated Press in an interview.
Ballard has drawn flak from the Democrats in town from his move to introduce the mostly unfamiliar sports to a Midwestern city which is considered a hub for car racing and basketball. “These are global sports and they’ll give us more visibility in the global marketplace,” he says.
So where did Ballard get the idea to introduce cricket?
During a trade visit to India in April, he had become fascinated with the popularity and the frenzy the sport brought and saw the vast economic potential if the game were to be nurtured on American soil, and what better place for that to happen than his hometown, he reckoned.
“When people around the world think of cricket, I want them to think of Indianapolis,” he reportedly told local media during his visit in India.
Ballard is now putting his money where his mouth his. And if his gamble pays off, then not only the city of Indianapolis, but an entire nation may thank him, including from the expatriates here from South Asia, Caribbean, Europe and Africa countries, who have been looking for a messiah like Ballard to come along.