Grand Prairie Stadium work underway

Article posted by Coliseum, July 29^th, 2022

Image: MLC & HKS

The Major League Cricket (MLC) announced on July 26^th the timeline for completion of the Grand Prairie Stadium (US), with work underway on the first world-class cricket venue to be constructed by America’s professional T20 league.

‘Major League Cricket’ stated that set to open in Spring 2023, the stadium in the City of Grand Prairie – located centrally in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area – will play host to MLC’s Texas franchise. The team’s identity and launch plans will be announced later this year.

The 15,000-capacity (planned) AirHogs Stadium is a stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas (US). After renovation it will be used for cricket as the home of the United States national cricket team.

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The Major League Cricket (MLC) is an upcoming professional Twenty20 cricket league in the United States. Operated by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) and sanctioned by USA Cricket, it plans to begin play in 2023, with six teams in major US Cities under a single-entity model. In 2021, the development league for MLC, Minor League Cricket (MiLC), completed its inaugural season, which was contested by 27 franchise-based teams.

‘Major League Cricket’ further stated that demolition and excavation work began this week at the Grand Prairie Stadium, the former home of the baseball team Texas AirHogs, with a total cost of $20 million set for the current phase of renovations that will transform the venue’s baseball diamond into a cricket field with a natural grass turf wicket.

The stadium’s conversion will create a fully dedicated world-class cricketing facility with an addition of seats around the oval increasing permanent capacity to over 7,000. The venue will feature 1,000 club and premium seats, with the ability to expand to a capacity of over 15,000 for major events.

MLC has retained HKS as project architect, with the Dallas-based firm responsible for designing iconic venues including the 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington, Texas. The Manhattan Construction Company is serving as Construction Manager for Grand Prairie Stadium’s renovation and improvements, with Manhattan’s experience also including building the AT&T Stadium and the 40,300-capacity Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, home of the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Texas Rangers.

The improvements now underway at Grand Prairie Stadium include refurbishment and enhancement of the stadium’s 13 luxury suites and Hall of Fame and Officer Club Rooms, installation of premium seating experiences around the field and a renovation and reopening of the stadium’s sports bar facility. The new cricket stadium will be capable of hosting major international competitions meeting full international broadcast specifications. Training nets, batting lanes, two additional outside turf fields and further enhancements to the venue will be made in subsequent renovation phases.

The MLC stadium will be the most extensive fully-dedicated cricket facility in the United States and serve as a base for the USA Cricket National Teams and as a premier High Performance Center. The Grand Prairie Stadium will be a candidate to host matches at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, set to be co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies.

The City of Grand Prairie is an ideal location for a premier cricket stadium in the United States, with its strong cricket fan base and demographics in surrounding areas, favorable time zone for broadcast in major international cricket markets and the Dallas-Fort Worth region’s pedigree as a home for major sports teams and stadiums.

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