Men's T20 Cricket World Cup: PMY Group, Populous Get Nassau County International Cricket Stadium Ready in Record Time The temporary venue will host its eighth and final match between the U.S. and India on June 12 By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor Tuesday, June 11, 2024 - 1:50 pm
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Thursday, June 6 may go down as the most important day in the history of United States Cricket: the U.S. national team scored an upset victory over highly favored Pakistan and the highly anticipated, 34,000-capacity Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in East Meadow, NY was in its third day of operation. Hosting eight Group Stage matches in the Men's T20 Cricket World Cup, the new venue was constructed in less than half a year because of the trust between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its partners, including architectural design by Populous and technological planning by PMY Group.
We've never been a part of bringing to life a 34,000-seat venue that was fully capable in five months, says Logan Meier, VP/executive GM, USA, PMY Group. It took a small army of companies to make it all work, but, from a technological perspective, we were able to go from having absolutely nothing to bringing together elements that typically take years to design and put into place. This was unlike any other project that I've ever been involved in.
Jumping Aboard: ICC Taps PMY Group, Populous To Handle the Project The ICC announcement that the Men's T20 Cricket World Cup would be held in the U.S. and the West Indies was made in November 2021, but the physical construction of Nassau County International Cricket Stadium didn't begin until February 2024. Populous, a company known for permanent sports venues domestically and abroad, was tapped by the organization to plot out the design of the temporary structure on Long Island.
To complete the venue before the first game between Sri Lanka and South Africa on June 3, Populous leveraged its longstanding relationship with the ICC. That partnership has seen construction of several world-class cricket stadiums, including Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, which hosted the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Final; Sky Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, a host venue during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup; and redevelopment of the world-renowned Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
Working in close concert with the ICC and T20 USA has been of the utmost importance to everyone involved with this stadium, says Jeff Keas, senior principal, Populous. Our design was heavily influenced and inspired by the world-class standard that the ICC has set for its competitors and fans. Knowing the caliber of talent who'd be playing on the grounds, we knew it had to be special. The result is a remarkable experience for both U.S. and international cricket fans and players to enjoy some of the sport's greatest and most coveted rivalries.
Populous reused grandstands from the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
Building the temporary behemoth was crucial, but equipping it with the necessary workflows to host and entertain massive numbers of people was extremely important. To integrate that aspect in the best way possible, the ICC and one of its most valued partners, The Parker Company - an entity responsible for procurement of equipment and project management - outsourced the overall tech roadmapping to another company: PMY Group, a multifaceted and full-service technology-solutions company experienced in the sports and entertainment business through subsidiaries like technology design firm WJHW and involvement at high-profile sports events like The Open Championship in golf and the Australian Open in tennis. PMY Group had targeted the Men's T20 Cricket World Cup and had kept in touch with Populous when the firm was brought on and had fruitful conversations with members on the project.
We stressed that we could handle the planning of risk management and contract negotiations, physically deploying resources onsite, and managing all of the venue's technology, says Meier. We were able to share our experience, and, when [the ICC and The Parker Company] mentioned that they didn't have anyone heading up their technological efforts, we were more than ready to fill in that role.
Top-Tier Commitment: High-Quality Infrastructure, Tech Are Part of the Plan Building a temporary facility for a major sports event or tournament isn't a brand-new concept. More than a decade ago, The Basketball Arena in London's Olympic Park, constructed and opened in 2011 before the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, was demolished in January 2013. The effort was repeated less than two years ago around the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup in Qatar: Stadium 974 in Doha's Ras Abu Aboud district was outfitted with removable shipping containers as its exterior and became the first temporary venue in the competition's 94-year history. For the Men's T20 Cricket World Cup, the main difference is that the venue was built from the ground up within an extremely tight deadline. The daunting task, however, was no match for Populous's expertise.
Though implementing a modular, temporary stadium was a world first for cricket, notes Keas, our team at Populous has been designing modular stadiums and venues for decades - including numerous temporary stadiums and event spaces for the Olympic Games and MLB. We also knew that the team that was assembled to bring this stadium to life was second to none, each working in close collaboration with the next to ensure this stadium was a success. The Parker Company, Arena Group [for temporary hospitality], Alchemy [for construction management], Landtek Group [for growing the playing surface], ME Engineers [for multipurpo
