There are just a few months left until the stop clock. In June, Broward County will become the official host for its first international sporting event when it hosts the Cricket World Cup.
Now, it has until then to start — and finish — $8.4 million worth of renovation at Central Broward Park and Broward County Stadium, just off State Road 7 in Lauderhill.
Some details have already been worked on: Permitting with the city of Lauderhill is well underway, sidewalks have been moved because of water-retention issues, and burrowing owls have been relocated with the blessing of state officials.
“There were a lot of complications,” said Dan West, director of the county’s Parks and Recreation Division, referring to unexpected hiccups with sidewalks and the protected owls.
Design work also has started on the cricket pitches area, including the drainage and soil, which was a requirement to host the World Cup.
(Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
World Cup cricket is coming to Broward this summer and the renovations are underway. Officials get the shovels ready for a ceremony Tuesday. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
“It’s got to perform at the level of an international match for the ball to bounce,” West said. “That’s critical for us,” he said, saying professional “pitch curators” have been hired to oversee to work.
But within the next week the shovels will hit the ground to hustle to make the most noticeable improvements happen: increasing the number of permanent spectator seats from 5,000 to 8,150; another 3,000 to 4,000 temporary seats will be brought in; restroom renovations; batting cages for the practice area; two mobile scoreboards; ramps; and covered VIP grandstands.
Officially known as ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, there are four matches on Broward’s playlist: Sri Lanka will compete against Nepal at the Broward Stadium on June 11; the USA goes against Ireland on June 14; India takes on Canada on June 15, and it’s Pakistan vs. Ireland on June 16.
Tickets are expected to go on sale Feb. 22 at Tickets.T20WorldCup.com.
Broward plans to set up “Fan Zones,” which is an area or multiple areas within the park or surrounding cities that host celebratory events before, during and after the matches. Multiple groups are involved in finalizing those details, including the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the Lauderhill Police.
The history
The stadium was paid for through a voter-approved $400 million park bond passed in 2000, and is part of the $72 million regional park. The park, more than 100 acres, opened in 2007.
The International Cricket Council chose Broward’s stadium in Lauderhill, the first stadium in the United States sanctioned by the organization, as well as Eisenhower Park in New York, and Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas. This year is the first time the cricket World Cup will be played anywhere in the U.S.
The county’s goal: “billions” of eyeballs on those televised games, which will have video snippets of not just the stadium, but the surrounding community. And leaders hope that translates to future tourism and a return on their investment.
“Nothing happens overnight,” West said, and a recovery of the money that’s being invested will happen “over time.” That’s because the stadium and the fields can be used for other events during the year such as music and carnival festivities, and sports such as soccer, rugby and lacrosse.
Originally the cost for the seating alone was $3.9 million, but too many renovations, a new umpire suite, painting and park improvements were also needed, which raised the price, West said.
“Our goal is to make this more revenue potential in the future,” West said.
“I am certain it’s going to pay big dividends in the future,” declared Lauderhill Mayor Ken Thurston, marking his city as the “Cricket Capital of the United States.”
But Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of Visit Lauderdale, Broward County’s tourism promotion arm, said it’s already paying off.
“This is exactly why we built this stadium — bring World Cup cricket to the States,” she said. Broward is the “only venue that has a stadium that’s not a pop up.”
And she can point to specifics of why “we think it will reap benefits beyond what the county has invested,” she said.
There have already been 15,000 room nights booked in May and June when the international teams come to town to start practicing at the park, which is a “time when we really need it” because usual tourism starts to slow because of the heat, Ritter said.
Those team members are “staying at high-end luxury hotels on the beach,” such as Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale, Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach and The Ritz-Carlton.
After factoring in eating and shopping, even more money will be pumped into Broward, she said.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash