LA 2028 Olympics: Cricket's New Venue at Pomona Fairgrounds

Cricket at the LA 2028 Olympics

The cricket tournament at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 will take place at a temporary stadium in Pomona, a southern Californian city about an hour's drive from the athletes village. A source close to the LA 2028 organising committee revealed that multiple potential venues were considered during the planning stage. Options included cities on the East Coast, like New York, due to appealing time zones for the large Indian television market. However, keeping the six-team event within Los Angeles County was a priority for organisers. The desire for cricket's top players to stay at the athletes village at the University of California and interact with fellow Olympians led to other venues being disregarded, such as the Oakland Coliseum.

The chosen site in Pomona is the Fairgrounds, officially known as Fairplex, which has hosted the Los Angeles County Fair since 1922 and is a year-round venue for various events. A purpose-built cricket stadium will be constructed for the Games and disassembled afterwards. LA 2028 officials visited the site two months ago for a final inspection before reaching an agreement with the non-profit organisation that manages the 500-acre site. Cricket at LA 2028 will be a six-team T20 tournament.

Fairplex has an existing grandstand built in 1932 with a capacity of 8,000. It's set for renovation this year, but it's not clear if it will be part of the stadium plans. The site has previously hosted concerts for 40,000 to 60,000 people. The International Cricket Council (ICC), International Olympic Committee (IOC), and LA 2028 organising committee collaborated on the venue choice, but LA 2028 organisers and the IOC had the final say. ICC chair Jay Shah expressed his anticipation of collaborating with the IOC to make cricket a success.

The prospect of a temporary venue raises concerns over the use of drop-in pitches. Cricket's only previous Olympic appearance was at Paris 1900. The England and Wales Cricket Board is said to have held preliminary talks with Cricket Scotland about fielding a TeamGB side, and the ICC will determine the qualification process for the Games.