New York– The pop-up stadium that hosted the all-important match between India and Pakistan in the T20 World Cup in New York – Nassau County International Cricket Stadium – will be disassembled in almost six weeks, according to report.
The venue that played host to eight matches of the T20 World Cup will be returned to its original state with free public access to its grassy surface.
The work to dismantle the stadium, housed in Eisenhower Park, has actually started after the last game at the venue between India and the co-hosts USA on Wednesday (as per IST), a Cricbuzz report said.
The makeshift stadium was constructed at a rapid speed of just 106 days with drop-in pitches prepared in Florida after getting shipped from Adelaide, Australia in December last year. After that, the pitches were relocated to New York in the end of April, and in early May they were fixed in the main square and practice area.
The fate of the pitches is still uncertain with the International Cricket Council (ICC) leaving it to Nassau County authorities to take the call on its future.
“If they want to keep them and handle the required maintenance, they can,” Cricbuzz quoted an ICC official as saying.
If not, the ICC will move the drop-in pitches, which have been the topic of intense debate for the past two weeks, to a location where they will be required. The outfield will stay at its current location, the report said.
However, the proposal to host a few Major League Cricket (MLC) games at the stadium was not accepted by the franchises. New York is the base for the MLC franchise MI New York and their owners are expected to build a new stadium at a different location in the near future, it added. (IANS)
