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Twenty20 cricket in America
Champions League in USA sights?
February 10, 2010
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The prospect of the Twenty20 roadshow reaching the USA in the near future has moved a step closer following meetings between Don Lockerbie, the chief executive of USACA, and Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, in Dubai.
In an intriguing piece of timing, the talks between the two men came on the same day that Modi unveiled the dates for the 2010 Champions League tournament.
It appears, though, that the IPL will reach the Americas before the Champions League. "We will work with the USACA to develop official IPL games over the next 18 months," Modi told Cricinfo. "We will start with exhibition matches."
Lockerbie, too, played down the prospect of playing host to the Champions League this year but did not rule out being ready for future editions.
"I have not only been watching the IPL developments with some interest, I've been sitting on the same couch [as Modi]," Lockerbie told Cricinfo. "We are going to be making an announcement any day about a collaboration, to see the IPL's promises of coming to the United States manifest themselves pretty soon."
Earlier this week, Modi restated his desire to break into an untapped market that is believed to contain up to 20 million cricket fans, many of whom are of Asian origin, and the Champions League, with its 16-day duration, is the right sort of length for a taster tournament.
The timing of this year's tournament, which Modi confirmed will be held at an as-yet unspecified venue from September 10 to 26, caused instant consternation at the England & Wales Cricket Board, because the dates sit squarely over the culmination of the English domestic season. However, that same period also coincides with the tail-end of the summer in USA, with temperatures in New York ranging between 16 and 26 degrees Celsius.
'We are looking at a shorter version of the league post the IPL seasons, which will help us take the game to the fans across the globe," Modi declared on Monday. 'We will also host a few matches in the US in the next 18 months or so. My team have started examining venues and dates which may be available for this in the summer months. The duration for all these tournaments will be short and compact."
Seeing as that 18-month timeframe would have to be condensed down to seven to make any such proposal workable, the notion of the Champions League heading to America remains a long shot. But, having moved the 2009 IPL from India to South Africa at a month's notice last April, Modi has already demonstrated what he can achieve at short notice.
| We are going to be making an announcement any day about a collaboration, to see the IPL's promises of coming to the United States manifest themselves pretty soon Don Lockerbie, USACA chief executive | |||
At present the USA's only international-standard venue is the 20,000-capacity complex at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but in describing his country as "the land of the temporary stadium", and citing the example of the annual Masters golf tournament at Augusta, Lockerbie floated the possibility of extra structures being put in place if the need arose.
"The opportunity to expand the vision of the IPL around the world definitely includes the United States, and we're going to put together a working group to get serious about what could happen in the USA," said Lockerbie. "We have a tremendous fan-base, but limited resources and infrastructure. We only have one major stadium at present in the country, and you can't put on any kind of IPL tournament with only one stadium. It's not very likely ... this year."
As venue development director at the 2007 World Cup, and having helped to introduce another unfamiliar sport to the USA through his consultancy role at the 1994 football World Cup, Lockerbie is confident he has the necessary experience to meet the standards required for a high-profile cricket tournament.
"During the 2007 tournament I was also responsible for laying the outfields and wickets, so I'm not concerned about the challenge of getting the wickets up to the right standard, or whether we can put them together quickly enough," he said. "But it would really help to have major events coming to America, so that we can work with communities to get those venues properly developed.
"We are in very serious discussions with New York, and the surrounding tri-state area as they call it. Everybody in cricket knows that the US has its hand up and is looking for business, and we'd like to see a big event awarded to us, to help us dynamically work with cities and governments, and help us with the development of cricket stadiums in those areas."
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo
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Andrew Miller
Andrew Miller was saved from a life of drudgery in the City when his car caught fire on the way to an interview. He took this as a sign and fled to Pakistan where he witnessed England's historic victory in the twilight at Karachi (or thought he did, at any rate - it was too dark to tell). He then joined Wisden Online in 2001, and soon graduated from put-upon photocopier to a writer with a penchant for comment and cricket on the subcontinent. In addition to Pakistan, he has covered England tours in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007
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Cricket in the US? Is this some kind of a joke. Not many native Americans ( not referring to Red Indians) are playing in their national team. Unless "Americans" play and start winning, which is important, cricket won't have many takers in the US. But all the best wishes to Mr. Modi and Mr. Lockerbie.
Posted by pkahir12 on (February 11 2010, 22:35 PM GMT)These idiots will keep talking and do nothing!!!! They have been talking for years and nothing is happening in the USA. Cricket in USA is not moving forward by even an inch. Its a shame that people like these keep collecting their paychecks and undermining the very people who would actually like to play.
Posted by crikkfan on (February 11 2010, 19:42 PM GMT)richardty what is the big fuss abt pakistanis not being there? yeah sure there was some kind of boycott that happened and IPL is a private league aimed at providing entertainment and making money - i am sure they'll continue to do it . And they havent antagonized the local govt too - pakis have enuf issues to sort out b4 getting greedy abt the money
Posted byLets try a single exhibition match between IPL3 or IPL4 finalists in Ft Lauderdale with no additional temporary seating unless there is absolute demand for seats, make the entry free or keep it under $10, broadcast it free on YouTube IPL channel and see if ESPN360.com can show it too like recent India-Bangladesh series, Check if ESPN (now they list Cricket among sports on their website after acquiring Cricinfo) would show it live at least in major Asian markets, Promote it in media, and see what happens. I was able to invite American friends to watch World Twenty20 2007 games and who knows fans might be able to do the same and spread a bit of awareness.
Posted by KTiwari on (February 11 2010, 16:31 PM GMT)Aay event in US should have atleast one team from US. May be USA national team can be part of short IPL event. In this way, USA team will get good exposure and will also generate more local interest in additional to interest in the expats.
Posted by Thunee_man_Naidoo on (February 11 2010, 15:54 PM GMT)Lalit Modi should should try and launch a plan that simultaneously promotes cricket in areas such as USA, Japan , China and Many of the Associate nations. Just because cricket will be played in the US doesn't automatically make it a hit globally.
Posted by suhailnas on (February 11 2010, 13:08 PM GMT)I would lov to see a match between USA and Iraq....just imagine the intensity,,,
Posted byCricket should, and is looking to expand, and US is potentially a huge market we should look at. But no sport can survive without its own team performing well. And i guess that is the toughest challenge facing US Cricket, the ICC, and even the Mr. Modi. If this aspect is neglected, we could have "Bangladesh Revisited", where the supporters have started to look at other sport to get a whiff of success. Therefore, rather than looking at US as a market alone, we should strive to help them build a strong team. We should create avenues for the best talent to be attracted to Cricket away from other more popular sport. I wait for the day when US face-off against India, Pakistan, and even Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, and the end of the day, all walking away happily. All the best to all looking to better the great game to Cricket in the US and elsewhere around the world. Thanks for your hard work. I'm sure it will payoff one day. Cheers to Cricket and YOU.
Posted by ATL48 on (February 11 2010, 04:19 AM GMT)Even if they play in February the mainstream audience won't have much interest in the audience. Forget trying to work around the NFL season. If they can get the same kind of viewership that American soccer gets, than it is a MAJOR success. Unless a live game happens in this country, cricket will never take hold. More importantly Modi needs to work out a contract with ESPN to put the games on their network for free. Right now they are charging outrageous amounts through DIRECTV and Dish Network. Until it is on a mainstream sports network like ESPN or FSN cricket cannot appeal here.
Posted by amicuscoach on (February 11 2010, 03:04 AM GMT)Why eveyone makes this such a big issue of creating a big venue for a 20/20 I don't know. Back in the late 80's or 90's Toronto hosted a cricket match where almost 50,000 fans turned up. That is 20 years ago. It was a 50 over game. A football stadium can be adapted. It will not be perfect but it will be more than workable for 20/20. Houston also did something similar. Drop in pitches are not that difficult anymore either. There is enough money to be made to take care of all the expenses. The fans would turn up in force with 20/20 in Toronto or any major New York Stadium. Maybe doing it in an indoor stadium is the best way to go where you know the weather will not interfere. Get a little imaginitive. This is not hard to make happen and make a bucket load of money. Mark Demos