Indianapolis World Sports Park is an American sporting complex in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. The site covers at the former Post Road Community Park and consists of three multi-use fields for the sports of
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
,
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
,
hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
,
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
,
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
, and
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
. The $5.1 million facility was completed in 2014.
History
Announced in 2013 as an initiative of Mayor
Greg Ballard
Gregory Alan Ballard (born November 20, 1954) is an American politician, author, and businessman who served as the 48th mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Marine Corps.
On November 6, 2007 ...
, the facility was slated to host the
U.S. cricket men's national championship in August 2014 as its inaugural event, but city officials canceled a three-year hosting contract with the national cricketing group in May of that year, citing "deteriorated" communication about sponsorships, publicity, and other event planning details. The city said the breakdown between the groups began after U.S. cricket director
Darren Beazley
Darren Beazley is an Australian businessman and sports administrator.
Early life
Darren Beazley was born in Nambour in Queensland, but spent his formative years in Geraldton, Western Australia, where he graduated from high school and later un ...
stepped down in March.
Despite losing the national cricket tournament, city officials completed the project, scaling back the number of fields from five
to three and eliminating plans for a concession pavilion, maintenance building, and additional parking, which helped the project come in about $1 million under budget. With the changes, one of the three fields was not built to "international standards for professional play", according to the ''
Indianapolis Business Journal
''Indianapolis Business Journal'', often abbreviated ''IBJ'', is a weekly newspaper published in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. ''IBJ'' reports on Central Indiana business. It is the leading publication of IBJ Media. The newspaper was founded in 1980 ...
''.
At the complex's first major cricket tournament, only one field was approved for international play, as it had a natural-turf oval; the secondary field is synthetic. Unlike larger U.S. facilities such as
Central Broward Regional Park
Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, formerly Central Broward Regional Park and Central Broward Stadium, is a large county park in Lauderhill, Florida, and the only dedicated cricket stadium in the United States. It is owned and oper ...
, the facility lacks floodlights, a pavilion, a clubhouse or changing rooms for players, a media area, concession stands, and bleachers for fans.
The project was controversial in Indianapolis. The facility's funding came from the city's "RebuildIndy" initiative, which was intended to fund infrastructure improvements.
Indianapolis City-County Council
The City-County Council of Indianapolis and Marion County is the legislative body of the combined government of the city of Indianapolis and the county of Marion in the state of Indiana. The council was established as part of the consolidation of ...
members criticized the mayor and the project, saying the money would be better spent on roadwork and sidewalks. Also, the project was seen as an extravagant expense for a city which at the time was facing a $40 million budget deficit
and a crime wave with an understaffed police department.
The complex is located in a residential area on the east side of the city with several houses on the north boundary within a
batsman
In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...
's striking range. During construction, irrigation pumping at the park was alleged to have depleted several nearby water wells. The city lowered some residential pumps and replaced at least one well, costing about $15,000.
Events
The first event held at the park was a local
Gaelic games
Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...
tournament in August 2014, with local and regional cricket matches also held that year. In May 2015, the park hosted its first international cricket event, the
2015 ICC Americas Twenty20 Division One
The 2015 ICC Americas Twenty20 Division One was a cricket tournament held in the United States from 3–10 May 2015. All matches were played at the World Sports Park in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The top two teams at the tournament, Canada and the Un ...
tournament. The
U.S. cricket team and national teams from
Bermuda
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, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
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Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
participated. Canada and USA advanced to the
2015 World Twenty20 Qualifier, a feeder tournament for the
2016 ICC World Twenty20
The 2016 ICC World Twenty20 was the sixth edition of the ICC World Twenty20, the world championship of Twenty20 International cricket. It was held in India from 8 March to 3 April 2016, and was the first edition to be hosted by India.
Seven ...
.
Bermuda was relegated to ICC Americas Twenty20 Division Two. Total attendance for the 24-match tournament was fewer than 1,000 people, with 60 spectators reported at one game.
The main cricket field was hailed as being of
Test-match quality, according to the groundsman who worked at the facility during the event. "It's a full sand carpet outfield which is pretty much the world's best standard practice for building outfields. The drainage is phenomenal," he said. Cricketers
David Hemp
David Lloyd Hemp (born 8 November 1970) is a former Bermudian cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler, who has played domestic cricket for Glamorgan, Free State, and Warwickshire. David has a younger brother, ...
and
Nicholas Standford
Nicholas Standford (born June 4, 1987) is an American cricketer of Barbadian origin who made his debut for the U.S. national team in November 2012. He is a right-handed top-order batsman and occasional right-arm medium bowler.
Standford was bo ...
respectively praised the outfield as "magnificent" and the facility as "excellent". Despite the praise, writer Peter Della Penna noted that "most other aspects outside the ropes were makeshift accommodations that would only be suitable at amateur level", citing the lack of standard amenities for players, fans, and media.
Indianapolis hosted the inaugural ICC Americas Combine in September 2015.
After the
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...
approved six
Caribbean Premier League
The Caribbean Premier League (abbreviated to CPL or CPLT20) is an annual Twenty20 cricket tournament held in the Caribbean. It was founded by Cricket West Indies in 2013 to replace the Caribbean Twenty20 as the premier Twenty20 competition in t ...
matches to be played in the U.S. in 2016, the venue was mentioned as a possible host.
However, the games were slated for Central Broward Regional Park in Florida, the only American venue approved for
one day international
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
matches by the
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...
.
When the ICC Americas cricket office was relocated from
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
in 2016, Indianapolis was reported to be "a particularly strong contender", though
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
was ultimately selected.
See also
*
List of parks in Indianapolis
This list of parks in Indianapolis provides a general overview of parkland in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Parks in the city are managed primarily by the City of Indianapolis Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as Indy Parks ...
*
List of cricket grounds in the United States
This is a list of cricket grounds in the United States. The grounds included in this list have held first-class, List-A and Twenty20 matches. Additionally, one has also hosted Twenty20 Internationals. Included in the list is St George's Cricket ...
References
External links
*
{{Cricket in the United States
Sports venues in Indianapolis
Cricket grounds in the United States
Sports venues completed in 2014
2014 establishments in Indiana
Cricket in Indiana
Sports complexes in the United States