The Caribbean Premier League affirmed its expansion plans for the U.S. market, with CEO Damien O'Donohoe saying N.Y. would be his preferred location. The four-year-old T20 league last month became the first professional cricket league to host games on U.S. soil, and league officials are bullish about cricket’s future in the North American market. “In time, cricket could be very successful in the U.S.,” O’Donohoe told SBD Global. “Within the next year or two, if the ICC [Int’l Cricket Council] allows us, I think we could put a franchise into at least two cities in the U.S.” The CPL hosted six matches in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at the end of July. The games at Central Broward Stadium, which is the country’s only cricket facility, drew more than 30,000 spectators across four days. The league has not yet made a decision on where a potential U.S. franchise would be placed, but O’Donohoe said the Big Apple tops the list. “I’m still very clear in terms of my view and that is we should have one if not two franchises in the Americas, whether it be Toronto, New York or Fort Lauderdale, or any other city for that matter,” he said. “Ultimately New York would be the No. 1 location.”
FACING CHALLENGES: The CPL, however, faces several obstacles before any U.S.-based franchise could join the six-team competition. The governing structure of cricket in the U.S. is currently in limbo after the ICC suspended the USA Cricket Association last year due to significant concerns about its governance, finance, reputation and cricketing activities. The ICC provided the CPL with a one-year deal to host games in the U.S. The league said it has already held talks with the governing body for a return to the U.S., but without a set governing structure it cannot sign a long-term deal to play annual games in the market. “The ICC is trying to set up the governing structure at the moment,” O’Donohoe said. “We would like to sign a deal for five to 10 years.” A potential U.S. franchise would also require a significant investment in the sport's infrastructure. SBD Global understands the CPL had to spend upward of $700,000 to get Central Broward Stadium up to professional cricket standards. While the U.S. excursion was not economically profitable for the league, it showed that the cricket world is taking the U.S. serious and displayed the market’s opportunities, O’Donohoe said.
ATTRACTING ATTENTION: Members of the world’s most powerful national cricket association, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, attended the CPL matches in Florida and decided to schedule two T20 test matches of their own in the U.S. India will take on the West Indies on Aug. 27 and 28 at the South Florida venue, highlighting cricket's interest in the untapped U.S. market. “Those guys [BCCI] were obviously looking to see, 'Could this work?' which it did,” O’Donohoe said. “It has given them the faith that they want to go now and put on their own games. All in all it’s good for U.S. cricket and that’s what this is all about.” The CPL is aware of the sport’s challenges, with O’Donohoe putting cricket’s development about 12 years behind that of soccer in the U.S. The CPL believes it is important for cricket’s long-term viability to get involved in local communities and develop some American talent. “Long-term there needs to be an investment with the powers to be that they look at doing something like hosting a World Cup in America and building the infrastructure that's required,” O’Donohoe said. “We would move with them over the next six, eight, 10 years until that happens, and really develop the game and build the brand of cricket in the U.S.”
