New Delhi: Los Angeles Olympics 2028 organisers are reportedly mulling moving cricket out of the host city to a different venue keeping the Indian audience in mind. Cricket can be shifted from Los Angeles to New York in a bid to cater to the Indian fans, who are expected to be the major consumers of the sport which is set to mark its return to the Olympics after 128 years.
As per a report in the Times, Casey Wasserman, the chairman of the 2028 LS Olympics organising committee recently said that the plan for cricket at the LA Games will be formed keeping India in mind. The decision to bring cricket back at the Games was taken keeping the South Asian audiences in mind and India remains the biggest market for the sort.
The sport’s inclusion was made in a bid to help the organisers demand bigger broadcast deals and the move to shift the cricket matches to New York will align with their goals. India is 9.5 hours ahead of New York compared to 12.5 hours behind Los Angeles which makes the former a better choice for the organisers.
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The T20 World Cup 2024 was hosted in the USA and the Caribbean earlier this year with New York hosting the majority of the matches of the tournament. The games were played at Nassau County, a makeshift stadium which used drop-in pitches. The ICC was heavily criticised for the quality of pitches on offer in New York.
MI New York’s Stadium can be utilised
However, as per the report in the Times, the Marine Park in Brooklyn which currently serves as the home ground for the MI New York franchise in the Major League Cricket (MLC) can be used as a potential venue to host matches during the 2028 LA Olympics. The organisers are reportedly also considering building a new 10,000-seater stadium in the city. However, there remain doubts whether it will be up and running before 2028.
The move to shift cricket matches to New York from LA will also align with the organisers’ goal to reduce the total number of athletes and support staff that will be housed in the Games village. The organisers want to keep the number under 10,000 and the move to shift cricket matches to New York would mean the 8 men’s and women’s squads will be all based in New York.
A typical squad generally consists of 15 players, excluding the support staff. That would mean at least 360 athletes will be 4,500 km away from the LA Games village in the other corner of the country in New York.
