Anticipation is high for the India-Pakistan blockbuster in New York (Photo by Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC … [+]
Almost inevitably, given cricket’s knack for igniting spot fires, the early stages of the historic T20 World Cup played in the U.S. have been dogged by controversies and criticisms.
The much-hyped Nassau County Stadium in Eisenhower Park was unveiled to much fanfare after much of the pre-tournament coverage centered on the lightning quick four-month construction of the 34,000-seat modular ground.
But under such time pressures – the venue had only been locked in late last year after finding a suitable facility proved difficult – the stadium appeared very much hastily put together when its early matches were marred by ridiculously low scores. The drop-in pitch was labelled as ‘dangerous’ forcing authorities into damage control.
There has also been some mockery of cricket’s attempts into getting into the congested U.S. sports market and it’s been well noted that the Nassau County Stadium in Long Island is 30 miles away from Manhattan.
Indian fans have descended on the cricket ground in New York (Photo by Pankaj Nangia-ICC/ICC via … [+]
The matches in New York are certainly off-Broadway, with the majority of Americans seemingly oblivious to cricket’s biggest event of the year being played in their backyard amid NBA and NHL finals fever.
Those who are genuine cricket fans have complained about being priced out of games in New York, which have been more expensive than those in Dallas, Lauderhill, Florida, and the Caribbean.
The blockbuster between foes India and Pakistan in New York on June 9 has predictably been the hottest ticket of the tournament after being oversubscribed more than 200 times the allocation in the public ballot. Tickets at the time cost between $175-$400.
Additional tickets were released during the week but general admission tickets, starting at $300, were gobbled up. Tickets on StubHub were reselling for over $600 – a figure that came down considerably after the eye-watering prices of more than $2000.
Hospitality tickets were still available hours before the match at an astronomical price of $2500-$10,000.
But the sheer spectacle of India and Pakistan, as always, is hoped to save the day. The fanaticism over the contest, even in a cricket backwater, should create surreal scenes and showcase the most heated rivalry in all of sports that will be obsessively watched in South Asia.
There are big financial stakes attached to the match. As I first reported, the 34,000-seat modular cricket stadium in Long Island cost around $30 million for T20 Incorporated, the entity established in the U.S. to deliver the event.
Officials have been confident the investment can be recouped through ticketing and hospitality – mostly through the India-Pakistan fixture which is expected to generate around $15 million at the gate.
The demand has been jaw-dropping and gleaned through figures from Viagogo, a website that facilitates the resale of tickets to concerts, theatres and sporting events, and StubHub’s international brand outside of North America.
Based on Viagogo’s worldwide data, 15% of all tickets sold for the T20 World Cup were for the India-Pakistan match, with an average ticket price of $1300, significantly higher than the $120 average for all other fixtures combined.
The New York matches have accounted for 56% of all T20 World Cup ticket sales on Viagogo, with tickets purchased in 62 different countries for the U.S.-based matches.
Viagogo’s data is believed to be based on thousands of ticket sales. The U.S. – followed by Canada and India – is the country where fans have purchased the most tickets on the Viagogo marketplace across all matches.
Tickets have been expensive to watch India games (Photo by Pankaj Nangia-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
“This year’s T20 World Cup has demonstrated that the appetite for cricket in the U.S. cannot be underestimated,” Viagogo global managing director Cris Miller told me.
“With U.S. buyers out-ranking buyers from any other country, according to our data on the Viagogo platform, it is clear there is a growing market for cricket in the States which organisers will no doubt be hoping to maximise for future growth.
“What our data also shows is that India-Pakistan remains the biggest cricket fixture on the planet, if not one of the biggest sporting fixtures overall.”
It is often remarked that India-Pakistan is a cheat code for cricket – papering over controversies while injecting a lot of cash into the sport – and that will again be evident when the rivalry renews in new surroundings.