The United States of America has witnessed a record T20 World Cup crowd and unprecedented interest across various platforms, with the USA leg of the 2024 season featuring riveting cricket and drawing immense crowds. A stunning upset by the home team in Dallas and an incredible India vs Pakistan match in New York were among the highlights of the USA leg, attracting a total of 190,000 fans to the matches.
ICC Head of Events Delighted on T20 World Cup Crowd
Chris Tetley, ICC Head of Events, expressed delight at the unprecedented levels of interest in cricket in the USA. The tournament’s success hit headlines in major media outlets, including Good Morning America and the New York Times, setting a strong foundation for cricket’s growth in North America. The USA has been identified as a priority area in the ICC’s global growth strategy, and the success of the World Cup here is a promising start for cricket in the world’s biggest sports market.
“We are absolutely delighted with how the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has gone in the USA and the unprecedented level of interest in cricket in the country,” Tetley said.
“The extraordinary levels of media coverage in the USA was also great to see from Good Morning America to the front page of the New York Times, the event was covered by all mainstream media in the USA which bodes well for our long term strategy in the USA.”
“With the USA being a priority area of the global growth strategy, we couldn’t be happier with how the World Cup has been received on our first step into the biggest sports market in the world and we will look to build on this over the next four years towards the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 and beyond.”
Grand Prairie, Texas, saw an enthusiastic attendance of over 22,000 across four matches, with Nepalese fans turning out in large numbers. The USA’s historic win against Pakistan delighted local fans, showcasing the growing passion for cricket. The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York hosted the largest crowd in USA history for international cricket, with 34,028 people attending the India vs Pakistan match on June 9. India overcame Pakistan by six runs in a low-scoring thriller at Nassau County, where nearly 165,000 people participated in the games.
The US leg concluded in Broward County, Florida, with a match between Pakistan and Ireland attended by over 4,000 fans despite several days of unprecedented rainfall. Fan parks were set up at Cedar Creek in Nassau County, Citi Field, and the World Trade Center in NYC, along with Epic Central in Grand Prairie and Fisher Pavilion in Seattle. Unofficial watch parties were also seen around the country, further boosting cricket’s popularity.
Note that the ICC digital platforms saw a historic 2.7 million USA-based users visiting the website and app, a 370% increase from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. Of these viewers, 52% were new fans of the ICC platforms. The ICC mascots Blaze and Tonk were joined by young fans on Roblox over 10 million times.
Notably, tickets for the remaining matches are available at tickets.t20worldcup.com and box offices across the Caribbean, with a limited number of Party-Stand tickets for the final available as part of a ticket bundle with Super 8 matches in Barbados. The success of the T20 World Cup in the USA signals a promising future for cricket in North America, building momentum towards the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
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