News


Lone Star Park To Get Cricket Stadium Neighbor
The proposed Cricket Stadium sits about a thousand feet to the southeast of the Lone Star Park's main entrance and recently served as a minor-league baseball stadium.

© Courtesy Lone Star Park
Lone Star Park To Get Cricket Stadium Neighbor

GRAND PRAIRIE, TX—NOVEMBER 30, 2020—According to an article by T.D. Thornton published on the Thoroughbred Daily News website last week, a minor league baseball park across the street from Lone Star Park is going to be retrofitted into a premier venue for the sport of cricket in the United States.

“We’re going to put Grand Prairie on the global map because hopefully when we get World Cups and international events, this is going to be one of the key stadiums we’re playing matches in,” USA Cricket chairman Paraag Marathe told ESPN. “The flagship where we’re going to be first putting up our flag and announcing USA Cricket to the rest of the world is going to be right here in Grand Prairie.”

The city-owned stadium sits about a thousand feet to the southeast of the Lone Star Park's main entrance. Opened in 2008 at a cost of $20 million, it was home to AirHogs, an independent minor league baseball team that folded this year due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Terms for the cricket deal is a 15-year lease, with $10 million in renovations required to bring it up to international cricket pitch standards.

Cricket is one of the most-viewed sports in the world, with its governing body reporting an annual audience of 1.6 billion. Although essentially off the radar of U.S. gamblers, the Cricket World Cup annually rates as one of the largest global wagering events.