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Major League Cricket (MLC) has unveiled ambitious plans to kick off its third season from the iconic Coliseum Stadium in Oakland, California, starting June 12, 2025. The historic venue, located just a 20-minute drive from San Francisco, was previously home to the NFL’s Oakland Raiders and MLB’s Oakland Athletics. The 56,000-capacity stadium will host nine matches between June 12 and June 19 before the 34-game MLC schedule shifts to Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas and later to Broward County Stadium near Miami.
A Seamless Transition for Cricket
Moreover, unlike the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas, which essentially involved spending a lot in modification work to facilitate the game of cricket, the Coliseum enjoys existing broad field dimensions within the framework of cricket needs. With the minimum boundary being 56 meters, MLC confirmed that the stadium meets ICC specifications.
Hosting cricket in a prestigious American stadium like the Coliseum would deeply help the foundations of the game in the USA and towards California. MLC, however, has stated that the current arrangement is for just one year, with the extension of the partnership depending upon the success or otherwise of this season.
Evaluating Long-term Possibilities
David White, CEO of the San Francisco Unicorns, emphasized the importance of finding a permanent home in the Bay Area.
“We have an obligation to find a home here in the Bay Area, and for the moment, that is the Coliseum. But we eventually hope that we can either take over the Coliseum or we will obviously have to look for a long-term home somewhere else. We've been talking to Santa Clara Fairgrounds, Sunnyvale, and other locations across the Bay Area,” said White.
Significant Investments for Infrastructure
To facilitate cricket at the Coliseum, MLC plans to transport two practice wickets that were previously installed at last year’s temporary T20 World Cup venue near New York to the West Coast. The shipment and installation process at the Coliseum is expected to cost over half a million USD. Overall, MLC is expected to invest around USD 3 million to ensure a smooth transition of cricket to the venue.
San Francisco Unicorns’ Community Engagement
White views the additional cost as an investment to engage more cricket fans in the Bay Area. The San Francisco Unicorns, making their debut at their home base, plan to enhance the fan experience by collaborating with a well-known brand as their community partner.
“We successfully hosted our family day, which is the last Sunday before our first game of the season with over 1500 fans. We intend on doing it this year too. There’s one particularly big, big brand that’s coming on as one of our community partners that we will be announcing next week. It’s about how we engage or work with them to enhance the consumer and the fan experience. We’d love to have some unique San Francisco Bay Area components surrounding the overall fan experience,” White added.
