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Major League Cricket’s (MLC) opening match for the inaugural season at Grand Prairie Stadium in North Texas has sold out.
The Texas Super Kings will face the Los Angeles Knight Riders in the new T20 series in the US.
Alongside the opening game on Thursday, guests will be treated to entertainment such as a drone show displaying the league’s six teams, an aerobatic aerial display from a GB1 GamedBird and post-game fireworks.
The development of a cricket-specific stadium in Grand Prairie was first announced in 2020.
Alongside further stadium developments, Major League Cricket completed an initial close of a $44m (€34m/$40m) Series A and A1 fundraising round in May last year.
The MLC is operated by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) and sanctioned by USA Cricket. The first season of the league will take place over three weeks at Grand Prairie Stadium and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina.
In February last year, MLC agreed a multi-million-dollar public-private partnership with the town of Morrisville to develop and upgrade Church Street Park into an international-quality cricket venue.
Sameer Mehta, co-founder, Major League Cricket, said: “Fans will experience an unforgettable night for cricket in America on Thursday, with a full house welcoming the world’s best players to Grand Prairie Stadium for Major League Cricket’s opening match. We are thankful to the fans for their support and to the City of Grand Prairie for believing in this vision.
“Tickets are selling fast for the rest of the matches in North Texas and North Carolina, with sellouts expected for further games. We know our teams will put on an amazing show of explosive T20 cricket for the fans – we can’t wait for the action to start.”
Grand Prairie Stadium will host 11 further matches in the first season, which will run from July 13-30. Seven games will be played at Church Street Park.
Faf du Plessis, captain of the Texas Super Kings, said: “Since we arrived in Texas, it’s been incredible to see the support for the Texas Super Kings. We can’t wait to get out on the field at Grand Prairie Stadium and represent the Lone Star State in front of a full house and be part of a special night for cricket in America.”
Sunil Narine, captain of the Los Angeles Knight Riders, added: “It’s going to be a historic night at Grand Prairie Stadium, as the first ever Major League Cricket game unfolds in front of a packed stadium this Thursday night. I’ve always spoken about wanting to represent the Knight Riders wherever they play. We’ve long talked about coming to the United States and I’m glad it’s finally happening. It’s great to hear that the opening game has been sold out, and we can’t wait to bring our exciting brand of cricket to the cricket fans in America.”
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