The blockbuster India v Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup 2024 will be played at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 9. However, the stadium is still to be readied for the big clash as recent videos showed the venue in a pathetic situation.
The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, which could accommodate 34,000 spectators, is scheduled to host 3 of the Indian team matches in the group A stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) shared the details of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium and mentioned the newly-laid cricketing turf and arena is the first-of-its-kind modular stadium.
"The stadium will feature an array of seating options including premium and general admission, VIP and hospitality suites, as well as a unique party deck and cabanas. Sustainability is at the forefront of this project. The grandstands, previously used for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, are being repurposed for the T20 World Cup venue," read a post on ICC's official handle on X.
Chris Tetley, ICC's head of events, said that the testing phase will begin in the week of May 13. This phase will involve warm-up matches, which will provide the organizers with a better picture of the stadium before the World Cup matches begin on June 3.
"There will be warm-up matches played at the facility (New York) so that we know from a cricket perspective how the venue runs. Also, importantly, we will know from an operational perspective how all of the functional teams that will come together to run the stadium need to interact on an event day with people coming through the turnstiles," Tetley was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
"Part of that is understanding how do people come through the turnstiles and where they go, how they use the venue, where they walk? Because that will then help us refine plans on spectator flows and where we need additional signage, where people get confused, where do they congregate?" Tetley added.
A set of drop-in pitches is being prepared in Florida by Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions, which is headed by the head groundsperson at Adelaide Oval, Damian Hough. The outfield is being manufactured by LandTek Group, known for preparing playing fields for the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Inter Miami CF.
Populous, the design team behind this project, is known for designing some of the world's most famous stadiums, including the world's largest cricket stadium, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
"In addition to testing events that give us a lot of reassurance is the quality of the people involved and the quality of the work that they do day in, day out: from Damian (Hough) on the pitches and the number of pitches he's building, which gives us a bit of flex in case one of the pitches doesn't go as well as we want, we can shift around so that we're not reliant on you know, a no latency solution there.
LandTek is working hand in glove with Damian on all of the agronomy aspects of the facility. From a cricket perspective, they are the ones that we are most keenly interested in ensuring over the right quality because that's fundamental," Tetley added.
(ANI inputs)
