Cricket might be forced to make its Olympic return outside Los Angeles, 2028 Games organisers said on Thursday, following reports the sport could be staged thousands of miles away in New York.
Casey Wasserman, the chairman of LA28, told a news conference that officials were still searching for a venue for cricket, which has been included in the Olympic program for 2028 more than a century after its only other appearance at the 1900 Games.
Wasserman said, however, that if a suitable site in Los Angeles could not be found, organisers would seek the best possible venue outside the city.
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“We don’t have a cricket venue in Los Angeles,” Wasserman said following a visit by the International Olympic Committee’s coordination commission.
“It’s a big footprint, and so we want to find the right place for cricket that has the greatest chance for success,” he added.
“If we can find a place for cricket in Los Angeles, in the region, we will. If not, it’s incumbent upon us to find the best place to produce the best cricket.”
Recent reports in Britain and the United States have indicated that Olympic organisers are considering staging cricket — a Twenty20 tournament — at a venue in New York.
New York successfully hosted games during this year’s T20 Cricket World Cup and Olympic officials were reportedly impressed by the venue at Nassau County Stadium on Long Island, New York.
Staging cricket on the other side of North America would also boost the commercial appeal of the sport from a broadcasting standpoint, with daytime matches taking place in prime time in Asian markets such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
LA28 officials have already taken the decision to move some sports outside of California, with softball and canoe slalom being staged 1,300 miles away in Oklahoma.
