The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) can confirm that the biggest party in sport will return to the USA after the International Cricket Council (ICC) approved the staging of Twenty 20 fixtures in 2017.
The Hero CPL has gained approval from the ICC to stage the event, who are the approving authority whilst USACA’s membership of the ICC remains suspended. The fixtures will be played in Central Broward Stadium, Lauderhill once more.
In all, six matches were staged in 2016 which generated $12,583,246 into the local Florida economy. The Hero CPL invested $1,668,151 with the combined visitor spend of $4,751,872 being the highest in this year’s tournament overall.
With a TV audience of 12.7 million, in the region of 30,000 fans attended all six matches during the 2016 season and the CPL is confident that this number will increase even further.
Mr. Damien O’Donohoe, Chief Executive of the Hero CPL said: “On behalf of Hero CPL, I am delighted that the biggest party in sport will return to the USA later this year.
“In excess of 30,000 fans packed our American leg of matches in 2016, with over half of those attendees travelling south from New York and as far west as Texas and Los Angeles. Tourists who attended these matches also spent more than $4.75 million in the local economy.
“This indicates a huge appetite for the game across North America and we welcome the opportunity to play our part in USA cricket’s future plans. We have committed to a community outreach programme to ensure the impact of the Hero CPL goes beyond the field of play.
“The USA provided many highlights last year and we believe the quality of cricket on the field, coupled with the party off it, will generate even greater interest for the upcoming season.”
The Hero CPL is scheduled to take place from 4 August to 10 September. Several fixtures are scheduled to be played in America and ticket information for the coming season, as well as all Hero CPL fixtures, will be announced in due course.