Wikipedia

Prairie View Cricket Complex

The Prairie View Cricket Complex (PVCC) is a group of six cricket grounds located in the city of Prairie View, part of the Greater Houston area, in Waller County, Texas, United States.[1] The facility is joint-owned by Tanweer Ahmed and Major League Cricket.[2]

Prairie View Cricket Complex
Logo of the complex
Ground information
LocationPrairie View, Waller County, Texas
Coordinates30°05′14.4″N 96°00′23.3″W / 30.087333°N 96.006472°W / 30.087333; -96.006472
Establishment2018
Capacity10,000
OwnerTanweer Ahmed
OperatorKalsoom Prairie View Cricket Association
TenantsMajor League Cricket
Houston Hurricanes
Houston Cricket League
United States cricket team
End names
Forest End
Highway End
International information
First T20I7 April 2024:
 United States v  Canada
Last T20I25 May 2024:
 United States v  Bangladesh
Team information
Houston Cricket League (2018)
Houston Hurricanes (2021)
As of 25 May 2024
Source: ESPNcricinfo

History

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In January 2018, Houston developer David Wolff, along with Pakistani American businessman Tanweer Ahmed joint-purchased 86 acres of land in Prairie View, Texas, to build a cricket complex.[3] Construction on the complex started by March 2018, in which two cricket grounds were scheduled to open by April 2018.[4] They opened four more cricket grounds in September 2018 as part of its first phase.[5] Upon opening, the complex hosted three cricket matches of the Houston Cricket League.[6] By July of 2022, a total of 14 cricket grounds were opened at the venue.[7]

In May 2019, the United States national cricket team played its first match at this venue.[8] By July of that same year, six cricket grounds had opened.[9] Construction continued throughout September of that year,[10] before ending and being ready for use in December 2019.[11] For the first half of 2020, it would be used as a venue for the Houston Cricket League,[12] before being used by the Houston Hurricanes as their home ground for the exhibition league of Minor League Cricket.[13]

It served as the host of the Houston Open 2021 (which was sanctioned by USA Cricket) in early April of that year.[14] It also hosted the United States Men's Under-19 National Championship,[15] in which the Mid-Atlantic Zone were crowned champions.[16] Later that month, it was also announced by USA Cricket that the venue would become the first official Major League Cricket National Cricket Center, and, as part of their joint-venture deal, they would add eight new turf practice nets and wickets, upgrading three cricket pitches to a high-quality natural turf wicket, and build a cricket pavilion, which would cater for both men and women players.[2] It was also announced that Tanweer Ahmed, along with PVCC Head of Operations, Mangesh Chaudhari would be added to the investor group in Major League Cricket, and that they both would also co-own the Houston Hurricanes, which was announced in August of the same year.[17] Additionally, the venue hosted a series of practice games between two Major League Cricket squads, and a United States Training Group.[18] The practice series featured the likes of Corey Anderson, Sami Aslam, Dane Piedt and more.[19] Similarly, it was the home ground to the Houston Hurricanes during the inaugural season of Minor League Cricket from July 31 to September 12, 2021.[20]

It was also announced on August 28, 2021, that the venue would be the host of the inaugural USA Cricket national men's 50-over championship, which took place from November 15-19, 2021 (changed from a November 12-20 schedule[21] due to the revised schedule of the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier).[22]

In March 2022, it was announced that the venue would undergo a $3 million renovation ahead of MLC and the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[23][24] In May 2022, the venue hosted warm-up and practice games ahead of 2 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 series at Moosa Stadium.[25] Additionally, from June to July 2022, the venue was used again by the Hurricanes in their 2022 campaign of Minor League Cricket.[23] In December of the same year, it was announced that the venue – alongside other venues such as Central Broward Stadium, Moosa Stadium, and the Grand Prairie Stadium – were likely to host matches in the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[26]

Events

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Upon opening in September 2018, the venue hosted matches of the Houston Cricket League throughout 2019 and 2020.[6][27] The United States national cricket team played their first cricket match at this venue in May 2019.[8] The following years, it was used as the Houston Hurricanes' home ground in both the exhibition league (in which Mayor David Allen was invited to see)[28] and the inaugural season of Minor League Cricket.[29][30] In April 2021, the venue hosted the USA Cricket-sanctioned Houston Open 2021,[31] in which the Nepali Rhinos took the trophy.[32] Later that month, it also hosted the United States Men's Under-19 National Championship, in which the Mid-Atlantic Zone was crowned champions.[33] The same month, the venue hosted a series of practice matches between a United States Training Group and two Major League Cricket squads,[34] which featured many international cricketers such as Shayan Jahangir, Dane Piedt, and others.[35]

In August 2021, it was announced that the venue would be hosting the first inaugural United States Men's National Championship, which featured eight teams, and spanned from November 15-19, 2021 (changed from a November 12-20 schedule[36][37] due to the revised schedule of the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier).[22]

The western ground in the complex hosted two official international series in April and May 2024, with the United States men's team playing Canada in a 5-match T20I series and Bangladesh in a 3-match T20I series.[38]

References

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  1. ^ Collette, Mark (18 July 2018). "Major cricket complex in Prairie View is Houston man's field of dreams". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b "First MLC National Cricket Center to be located at Prairie View, Texas". Major League Cricket. USA Cricket. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Massive cricket complex to rise in Prairie View northwest of Houston". American City Business Journals. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Wolff Companies' Development in Northwest Houston to Become Cricket Complex". Wolff Companies. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  5. ^ Roberson, Tera (7 August 2018). "Field of Dreams: USA's largest cricket complex coming to Texas". KPRC-TV. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b Malcolm, Timothy (22 October 2018). "Is Houston America's Next Cricket Hub?". Houstonia. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Mangat Group eyes Phoenix metro for massive cricket stadium". American City Business Journals. 12 June 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Cricket returns to its roots - in the US". Pitchcare. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  9. ^ Martin, Florian (11 July 2019). "As Houston's South Asian Population Grows, So Does The Popularity Of Cricket". KUHF. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  10. ^ @thehoustonhurricanes (9 September 2019). "Prairie view cricket complex shaping up nicely". Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via Instagram.
  11. ^ Kennedy, Mike (10 December 2019). "Cricket has Found a New Home in the USA". World Class Willow. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  12. ^ "We thank our 2019 Sponsors". NCCA Official. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  13. ^ Hays, Nate (10 October 2020). "USA Minor League Cricket week five preview". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Houston Open 2021 officially sanctioned". USA Cricket. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Men's Under 19 National Championships: Tournament Coverage". USA Cricket. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  16. ^ "USA Cricket Hails Successful Men's Under 19 National Championships". USA Cricket. 11 April 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  17. ^ Hays, Nate (18 August 2020). "Minor League Cricket announces teams and owners list, draft on August 22, exhibition games tentative". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Major League Cricket Invite USA Cricket to Join Triangular Practice Match Series in Texas". USA Cricket. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  19. ^ Della Penna, Peter (3 December 2020). "USA Cricket stepping up foreign recruitment to live up to ODI status". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Minor League Division Preview Series - Central". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  21. ^ "USA Cricket Announces 2021 Men's National Championship for Texas in November". USA Cricket. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  22. ^ a b "USA Cricket Announces Revised Dates for 2021 Men's National 50 Over Championship". USA Cricket. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  23. ^ a b Della Penna, Peter (18 March 2022). "USA T20 franchise league MLC projected to spend $110 million on facilities ahead of 2023 launch". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  24. ^ "MLC Stadium Development Timelines and Additional Venues Announced". Major League Cricket. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  25. ^ Nate Hays (2 May 2022). "USA to host 2022 home Cricket World Cup League Two series at Moosa Stadium". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  26. ^ Sarkar, Shounak (25 December 2022). "USA Cricket Individual Director lists Houston, Lauderhill and San Francisco as likely 2024 T20 World Cup host cities". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  27. ^ "Houston Cricket League (HCL) Grounds". Houston Cricket. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  28. ^ "Minor League Cricket Exhibition in the City of Prairie View September 19, 2020". City of Prairie View. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  29. ^ "Minor League teams set for exhibition games as USA Cricket announce Sep 2020 schedule". Czarsportz. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  30. ^ "2021 MiLC (Minor League Cricket) Schedule announced with over 200+ matches". Czarsportz. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  31. ^ "International stars light up opening day action at Houston Open". Czarsportz. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  32. ^ "Nepali Rhinos overcome tough challenges to win 2021 Houston Open T20". Czarsportz. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  33. ^ "USA Cricket: Announces Men's U19 National Championships, Here are the full schedule". Neo Prime Sport. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  34. ^ Hays, Nate (25 April 2021). "USA Cricket sends last minute Men's Training Group to compete in MLC triangular series". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  35. ^ "One-day Tri-series begins in Houston between USA and Major League select squads". Czarsportz. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  36. ^ Traub, Matt (30 August 2021). "USA Cricket Announces 2021 Men's National Championship for Texas in November". Sports+Travel Hong Kong. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  37. ^ "USA Men's National Cricket Championship Set For November". Wisden Cricket Monthly. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  38. ^ "Bangladesh set to tour USA for three T20Is ahead of World Cup". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
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