Major League Cricket was played in the iconic Oakland Coliseum (photo by Arjun Singh / Sportzpics for MLC)
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A T20 International Cricket match between Powerhouses India and Australia in the iconic Oakland Coliseum? It may not be so far -fetched, with international cricket hoping to be played at a location that was once the home of the Raiders and athletics.
Nine games of the recent cricket season of the Major League were played in the Coliseum, the home bus of the San Francisco Unicorns in a one season scheme. There were crowds of around 6,000 for some of the games when the well-to-do American T20 franchise match ventured to the west coast for the first time.
The Unicorns, a franchise supported by Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists, are ready to organize competitions next season at the famous location near Interstate 880, which has a beautiful view of the Oakland Hills.
“We absolutely want to keep playing there,” co-owner Anand Rajaraman told me in a telephone interview and added that a final decision was expected by the end of the year.
“We want to play more games there next season. We are convinced that it will happen, just have to complete a few things.”
If the Colosseum becomes a regular land for cricket, grandiose plans are presented. “My dream would be to see Australia playing India playing in the Colosseum, that would be quite incredible,” said Rajaraman.
“Of course, the American team too. Pure speculation, maybe we can do a Tri series between Australia, the US and India.”
Nine MLC matches were played in Oakland (photo by Shaun Roy / Sportzpics for MLC)
Shaun Roy
There should of course be a lot of interest in international teams to play in such a renowned stadium in the world’s largest sports market. As I recently reported, the only full member of the America – the only full member in America – hopes to expand their footprint in America, except hosting games in Florida.
While the unicorns already have a link with Australian Cricket through a powerful partnership with Victoria.
“I know that Australia is interested in coming and playing if the Coliseum is an option in the future,” said Rajaraman. “It will be great to have some selection framework and we will talk internally to see if this is possible.
“The Colosseum can take a maximum of 60,000 people, it is now the largest stadium for cricket in the US in terms of seating capacity. There are many exciting options.”
The unicorns only became the second side in the six-team MLC after the Texas Super Kings to secure a home base after the first two seasons were completely played in Dallas and Morrisville, North Carolina.
In the midst of more investments in MLC, there is a goal for the US to have 10 international crickettersines by 2030. As I have reported in recent months, home areas for MLC franchises Seattle Orcas and Washington Freedom are getting closer.
“Able to play home games for the first time, meant that there was so much more consciousness in the Bay Area about the Unicorns and MLC,” said Rajaraman, with the unicorns who fell away in the second half of the season before they were eliminated by the final champions Mi New York in the Play-Offs.
“It was also very interesting to see that many people turn out to look cricket that do not come from cricket -playing countries. It was the first time they watched cricket for them and they were looking for a team that played in Oakland, after they had lost their most important teams such as the Raiders and the As.
“So they were happy to see a sport coming in their beloved Arena and it was a great experience for everyone who was present.”
The Unicons played home games for the first time (photo by Arjun Singh / Sportzpics for MLC)
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As unicorns want to build on Momentum, MLC franchise owners follow an intriguing development many kilometers away with the privatization of the large Bash League of Australia that is seriously considered.
As I recently reported, owners of the Washington franchises and Seattle have shown interest in the BBL situation with minority interests that may be for the taking.
“As soon as they (Cricket Australia) find out, we will evaluate it,” said Rajaraman. “One of our biggest focus areas is on technology and AI with regard to cricket, so we would rather concentrate on that space instead of having many teams.
“But we have a close relationship with Cricket Victoria and we will certainly take a good look if they go that route.”
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