New Zealand Cricket is ready to leave Eden Park.getty images
New Zealand Cricket "could wave goodbye to expensive Eden Park" as soon as '21 if the proposed new home of int'l cricket in Auckland "is up and running at Western Springs," according to Mark Geenty of STUFF. Having presented a "damning assessment" of Eden Park in NZC's submission to the Auckland Council as part of Regional Facilities Auckland's Venue Development Strategy, CEO David White backed Western Springs and said that it could "potentially be ready" to host the next Int'l Cricket Council Women's World Cup in '21. White: "We're told it could be up and running by then, which would be a fantastic outcome." White said that the RFA proposal being backed by NZC would include a new rectangular stadium with a roof being built at either Eden Park or another city location, which would mean a "new home" for int'l cricket. Under the proposal, the current home of speedway in Auckland "was the preferred option" for all int'l cricket, including floodlights and state-of-the-art training facilities. NZC could move its HQ there, too. NZC's submission did not "hold back" on Eden Park. It said, "Auckland is currently missing out significantly on international cricket exposure due, primarily, to the lack of a cost-effective, financially-viable venue. Eden Park, the only ICC-sanctioned arena in New Zealand's most populous city, is unaffordable for all but the biggest and, by definition, the rarest of international cricket fixtures. Additionally, Eden Park's small size and rectangular, football-shaped playing field continually risks compromising the integrity of cricket matches hosted there" (STUFF, 5/22).
