The construction of a novel modular stadium, Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, the first of its kind for cricket, is currently in progress for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and is anticipated to be completed within a mere three months.
The 34,000-seat stadium is set to host eight matches of the event, including the high-profile fixture between India and Pakistan on June 9.
Meanwhile, groundsman Damien Hough of Adelaide Oval mentioned that the drop-in pitches to be used at Eisenhower Park in New York for the Men's T20 World Cup are a world first in terms of their preparation. Some of the trays have been constructed in Adelaide before being shipped to Florida and then transported to the new venue ahead of the tournament.
Hough and his team at Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions have been engaged by the ICC to oversee the delivery and preparation of the drop-in pitches at the pop-up stadium in New York, leveraging their expertise in growing and preparing drop-in pitches over the last decade.
Hough explained that preparing the pitches for the World Cup has been a complex process, involving numerous logistical challenges.
"It's a bit tricky, we basically built six of the 10 trays here in Adelaide," Hough told Channel 7. "We made them modular. We're really proud of them. We've got a couple out of the back that will probably come out here [on Adelaide Oval] next year.
"We put them in a shipping container and send them really wherever we want around the world. But they've gone over to Florida. And I've just come back from a month of work over there putting the trays together, putting the soil in, compacting them and putting the grass on. So we're in the grow-in phase.
"We've got a business, a company over there called LandTek that are helping us with the grow-in phase. Then there's a couple more strategic trips throughout the next six months to do some work on them and then transport them from Florida all the way up to New York where we'll put them in and prepare them.
"It's a lot of work that's gone into it so far. But the real work starts around the start of May. It'll take two days to transport them up which is quite incredible. Never done that before. So there's a lot of firsts. And then there's getting them in the ground.
"Four go into that venue, that pop-up stadium, 34,000-seat stadium. Eight games in 10 days. One of them is Pakistan and India which will be amazing. And then there's six that go into the warm-up venue with so many teams rotating through and so much training."
Hough, who has been juggling his responsibilities while also tending to the Adelaide Oval pitch for the Test match between Australia and West Indies and Adelaide's BBL pitches, mentioned that there is probably only going to be one warm-up game at Eisenhower Park before the World Cup commences.
"The first game is early June," Hough said. "There's probably going to be a warm-up game just to test the venue out in late May. But yeah, I pinch myself sometimes. For us, Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions, to have a little bit of involvement and assist with something that is quite historic in a World Cup in America for the first time."
It must be noted that 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.
The design team behind this ambitious project is Populous, renowned for creating some of the most iconic stadia worldwide, including the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
In New York, they are the architect of record for both the New York Yankees and New York Mets.
