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Major League Cricket coming to Grand Prairie
America's sport -- baseball -- did not catch on in one DFW suburb so another one is moving in. Dan Godwin reports live from what will soon be one of the finest cricket facilities in the country.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Grand Prairie is trying to make the city a premier destination for cricket fans.
The city council on Tuesday unanimously approved a project to renovate Airhogs Stadium near Lone Star Park, north of Interstate 30.
The stadium was home to a minor league baseball team for about 10 years. But the team never really caught on with fans.
The plan now is to turn the baseball diamond into a Major League Cricket field. Grand Prairie will kick in $1.3 million for the project and Major League Cricket will spend at least that much to renovate and expand the stadium’s current 5,400 seating capacity.
Airhogs Stadium will be renamed and a Dallas franchise Major League Cricket should begin playing there in 2022.
Airhogs Stadium in Grand Prairie
“We did give baseball every opportunity and this is a great thing. We’ll be playing cricket out there in 2022. We feel like when they play an international team we’ll have 8,000 to 10,000 people out there,” said Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen.
Cricket is a game that dates back about 500 years to England but has gained a devoted worldwide following, especially in southeast Asia.
Grand Prairie leaders are convinced there is an untapped fan base in the Metroplex.
“It’s the second most popular game in the world. And, l learned how to play it today via YouTube. It’s not as complicated as you think. Can’t wait to play it myself,” Jenson said.
There were similar plans to bring a cricket stadium to Allen but they fell through earlier this year.
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Major League Cricket team coming to North Texas
Grand Prairie will soon be home to a new state-of-the-art Major League Cricket facility and a professional franchise. USA Cricket Chairman Paraag Marathe joined Good Day to talk about the sport's big investment in North Texas.