Is Irvine set to be home to a team that’s part of a new professional sports league? City documents indicate that could be the case.
City filings show that Irvine’s been in closed-door discussions with recently unveiled Major League Cricket for the potential use of land for a sports team and facility at the Great Park.
The conversation is centered on a nearly 50-acre parcel of land off Great Park Boulevard, documents indicate. Terms of the deal, and the ultimate size of the project, haven’t been disclosed yet.
It’s not yet known how far along in discussions the two parties are. Major League Cricket representitives did not immediately respond to inquiries about the proposal, but said additional details could be disclosed later.
Texas Base
Major League Cricket is a planned league that’s reportedly eyeing between six and eight locations across the U.S. for teams.
MLC “will feature top international cricketers from around the globe, and provide a stage for domestic cricketers to showcase their talents to a global audience,” the league says.
One spot at another GP that’s not the Great Park—Grand Prairie, Texas—has been selected to hold the league’s headquarters, according to reports from September.
A roughly 5,000-seat baseball stadium there is being repurposed, reportedly at a cost of $13 million, to hold cricket facilities and become the national stadium for the country’s national cricket team. The Texas facility could open later next year.
The men’s national cricket team is currently ranked 19th in the world.
USA Cricket counts “more than 150,000 regular players across the country, with roughly 20 million fans and more than 4 million regular viewers of cricket,” according to the league.
In 2024, the USA will co-host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup alongside the West Indies, a major competition in the sport which is expected to bring more visibility to the new league.
The Orange County Cricket Association (OCCA), which was formed in 2007, manages two tournaments each year, with participation varying from 10 to 18 teams.
