MLC signs long-term lease to develop first cricket stadium in Grand Prairie

Texas [USA], November 19 : Major League Cricket (MLC) has received approval from the City of Grand Prairie on a long-term lease agreement to begin an extensive redevelopment of AirHogs Stadium as the organisation's first major cricket stadium in the United States.
The parent company of MLC, American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) -- in cooperation with USA Cricket, the national governing body for cricket in the United States -- has retained the internationally renowned design firm HKS to repurpose and design what will be a world-class stadium for cricket in the United States.
One of the best sports performance facilities in minor league baseball during its previous life as the home of the Texas AirHogs, the soon-to-be renamed stadium will become a dedicated world-class cricketing facility.
The redevelopment of the venue is scheduled to take place throughout 2021 before playing host to the Texas MLC franchise that is planned to launch in 2022, as well as a base for the USA Cricket National team and a premier High-Performance Center.
"As the first Major League Cricket stadium in the United States, Grand Prairie represents a seminal moment for the sport in America, and we are incredibly excited to partner with the City of Grand Prairie to bring Major League Cricket to Dallas," said Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan, co-founders of ACE and MLC.
"Grand Prairie's centralized location in the U.S. and the thriving Texas cricketing community, allied with the quality of the facility, made it the perfect site for us and we are certain that this is the beginning of a fruitful long-term partnership with the City that will bring much success," they said further
The City of Grand Prairie is an ideal location for a premier cricket stadium in Texas, with its strong cricket fan base and demographics in surrounding areas, the favorable time zone for broadcast in major international cricket markets, and Dallas-Fort Worth's pedigree for major sports teams and stadiums.
The new cricket stadium will see the existing baseball diamond converted to an international size and quality cricket field capable of hosting major international competitions, a number of training nets and batting lanes added, as well as two additional outside turf fields that will be used for training and by the affiliated MLC academies. Upon completion, it will be the most extensive fully-dedicated cricket facility in the United States.
The venue will also be a centerpiece of USA Cricket's efforts to bring major international events to the United States, including regional International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup and T20 World Cup Qualifiers for Men and Women, Cricket World Cup League 2 series, and International Series against local rivals Canada and the West Indies, as well as other contemporary nations.
The stadium will also be a featured aspect of USA Cricket's efforts to bring the ICC T20 World Cup and other major events to the United States by 2031, in a process that is ongoing as part of a joint bid with Cricket West Indies.
"We are very excited about this opportunity to bring cricket to Texas by converting our minor league baseball stadium," said Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen.
"Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world behind soccer, with a large and growing audience in the states. We look forward to an exciting future with our partners," he added.
The redeveloped stadium is slated to be ready for cricket in Spring 2022 but will serve as a key High-Performance center for the USA Cricket Men's and Women's National Teams and other key youth and zonal cricket squads during the interim.