Part of the International Cricket Council’s Men’s T20 World Cup will be played over the New York City line in Nassau County.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was not a happy camper after Nassau County, New York officials were able to land the International Cricket Council’s Men’s T20 World Cup that will take place in June 2024. The ICC event needed a 34,000-seat venue for the tournament and Adams promised to put up a temporary stadium in Van Courtland Park in the Bronx but Bronx residents did not want to give up the park during the summer. It was an echo of people in Queens who did not want to lose usage of Flushing Meadows Park because the New York City 2012 Summer Olympic Committee wanted to rearrange a lake within the park to host some Olympics water events. The Queens’ protestors won although New York City didn’t get the 2012 Summer Olympics because an Olympic Stadium was never built and that killed the bid. There was scant information on how much it would have cost New York City taxpayers’ to construct the temporary stadium. America will host the T20 World Cup with matches scheduled for Grand Prairie, Texas, Broward County in Florida and Nassau County.
The Adams administration claimed that hosting the event could lead to $150 million worth of economic activity for New York City and create thousands of jobs. The Adams administration didn’t spell out how it came to that calculation. Adams wants more sports events in New York City but the city has two arenas, four baseball stadiums and is surrounded by a football stadium five miles west of the city in the New Jersey Meadowlands and two other arenas in the market. The city has tennis’ US Open and a marathon which actually does make money for the city. There really is nothing available to enhance the city’s sports landscape other than the cricket tournament. Sports should not be counted on as an economic generator.
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