Fairgrounds in Pomona to host cricket at LA28 Olympics

Cricket will be staged at a purpose-built temporary venue at the Fairgrounds in Pomona, Southern California, during the 2028 Olympics Games hosted by Los Angeles, the LA28 organising committee announced on Tuesday.

Pomona is about 50km to the east of Los Angeles and the Fairgrounds, officially known as Fairplex, is a 500-acre complex that has hosted the Los Angeles County Fair since 1922.

The LA28 Olympics, which will be held from July 14 to 30, sees cricket return to the event for the first time since 1900 when Great Britain played France in a two-day game.

There will be a six-team competition for men and women with the sport having been allocated 90 athlete quotas, meaning there will be 15-player squads for each. The qualifying pathway and cut-offs are yet to be determined.

“We welcome the announcement of the venue for cricket at Los Angeles 2028 as it is a significant step towards the preparation for our sport’s return to the Olympics,” Jay Shah, the ICC chair, said.

“Although cricket is a hugely popular sport, it will be a fantastic opportunity to expand traditional boundaries when it features in the Olympics in the fast-paced, exciting T20 format that should appeal to new audiences.”

During last year’s men’s T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean, a pop-up stadium was built in New York, which hosted the India-Pakistan contest among its fixtures, with Central Broward Stadium in Lauderhill and Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas also used.

Cricket joins five new sports at LA28 – baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash.

There is an expectation that cricket will be retained for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane with the finals of the event being planned as the last matches to be staged at the Gabba before it is demolished. (ESPNcricinfo)