‘Cricket Mecca:’ Morrisville, Major League Cricket announce multi-million dollar deal
When Praveen Chakraraj moved to Morrisville in the early 2000s, he dreamed of bringing the game of cricket to the growing research town.
“There was not much cricket over here,” said Chakraraj, co-founder and co-owner of the Morrisville Cardinals, the only minor league cricket team in North Carolina. “We started playing in the streets and, you know, in our backyards.”
Turning Morrisville into a national and international cricket hub was a long-shot back then. But in 2022 it’s one step closer to becoming a reality.
“Honestly, I never expected that one,” Chakraraj said.
On Thursday, Major League Cricket and the town of Morrisville sealed a multi-million-dollar partnership to expand Church Street Park to become an international-quality cricket venue.
“I’m very much excited about these great enhancements,” Chakraraj said. “This will bring a lot of phenomenal, passionate and also the largest [sports]) community to this ground.”
An ‘international-quality venue’
The Church Street Park expansion will cost at least $2.5 million, said Morrisville Mayor T.J. Cawley.
The project will add over 2,000 permanent seats, boosting the park’s capacity to over 3,500 spectators. Other upgrades include more parking, state-of-the-art broadcast infrastructure, and LED-illuminated natural and artificial turf practice pitches and nets.
“We’re going to be very busy between coordinating the construction and working with the contractors to get everything built,” said Jerry Allen, community services supervisor for the Morrisville Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources department. “Our crew is up to the challenge.”
The enhanced facility will become the new host of Major League Cricket and USA Cricket national team matches and training events. It will also solidify Church Street Park’s potential bid to host the 2024 T20 Men’s World Cup — the “Super Bowl” of cricket.
“More people watch the T20 World Cup than watch the Super Bowl around the world,” said Tom Dunmore, vice-president of Major League Cricket, headquartered in San Francisco. “You’re talking about more than half a billion viewers around the world for the T20 World Cup.”
Thousands of fans travel from all over the world to attend T20 World Cup matches. If Church Street Park lands a spot as a host in 2024, Cawley says the town can expect great economic impact.
“That’ll bring people from all over the world into Morrisville,” Cawley said. “They’ll be eating in our restaurants, enjoying our amenities, and staying in our hotels.”
The year 2024 will be the first time in the tournament’s history that the United States hosts in the championship. Countries in the West Indies will co-host. A list of host cities has yet to be released.
Morrisville: A cricket mecca
As a host of the T20 World Cup, Morrisville would make local and U.S. cricket history.
“We’re already on the map,” Cawley said. “Morrisville, North Carolina, a small town of 32,000 people—but we’re really known as a cricket mecca, really.”
Since opening in 2015, Church Street Park has become recognized as “one of the best venues for cricket in the United States,” according to Major League Cricket.
Last year, the venue hosted the inaugural Minor League Cricket Championship finals weekend in October. The Triangle Cricket League estimates that more than 3,000 fans attended the championship, where the Silicon Valley Strikers claimed the title.
The enhanced Church Street Park facilities will remain open to the community. The park continues to serve as the home of the Morrisville Cardinals and for the Triangle Cricket League’s more than 2,500 players and 150 teams.
Construction for the expansion will begin early this year. The facilities will continue to operate normally during construction. Major League Cricket and the Town of Morrisville hope to complete the project in the spring of 2023.
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 1:23 PM.
