WATCH: Oakland Coliseum readies for cricket with MLC 2025; drop-in pitches installed

Major League Cricket's 3rd play volition marque past connected Thursday nighttime astatine the Oakland Coliseum successful California, marking the archetypal top-level cricket lucifer connected the US West Coast. The San Francisco Unicorns and Washington Freedom volition look disconnected successful a rematch of the 2024 final, utilising drop-in pitches transported from New York successful a venue that tin accommodate implicit 60,000 spectators.The Coliseum, which antecedently hosted the Oakland Athletics (MLB) and Oakland Raiders (NFL), volition run astatine a reduced capableness of 12,000 for cricket matches. The venue volition big the archetypal 9 matches of MLC 2025, including 3 location fixtures for the Unicorns.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The historical stadium, featured successful the 2011 movie Moneyball starring Brad Pitt, has been without imperishable tenants since some nonrecreational teams relocated.The Athletics person temporarily moved to Sacramento portion readying their eventual relocation to Las Vegas. The Unicorns initiated discussions with the Coliseum past twelvemonth to bring cricket matches to the Bay Area.

"We're going to beryllium playing successful Oakland this twelvemonth and we're excited astir playing successful Oakland. We're inactive aboriginal successful the process of figuring retired wherever we'll extremity up permanently. The spectrum is beauteous large. We tin perchance play successful Oakland permanently if everything goes well.

We're successful the process of figuring that portion out," said Unicorns co-owner Venky Harinarayan to TimesofIndia.com erstwhile asked astir playing successful Oakland and the future.Johnny Grave, who joined arsenic MLC main enforcement aft starring Cricket West Indies for 7 years, has overseen the task to modify the 1966-built stadium for cricket matches.

"The Coliseum is simply a fantastic determination for Major League Cricket, and we are thrilled by the imaginable of immoderate of the world's biggest cricket stars playing successful specified an iconic Californian venue.

Coming to the West Coast, and being present successful Oakland, is an historical determination for cricket globally. It reinforces our committedness to increasing the crippled successful the United States and providing fans with an exceptional cricket experience," said Johnny Grave, CEO of Major League Cricket, successful March."The Oakland Coliseum has agelong been a destination for sports and entertainment, and we are excited to adhd cricket to its continuing legacy.

This determination underscores Oakland's presumption arsenic a divers and dynamic sports city, and we look guardant to supporting the maturation of cricket successful our community," said Kevin Jenkins, Interim Mayor of the City of Oakland.

The San Francisco Unicorns, who finished arsenic runners-up successful 2024, volition play their archetypal 3 location games astatine the Coliseum aft spending 2 years astatine neutral venues.The tournament's docket extends beyond Oakland, moving to Grand Prairie, Texas, from June 20 to 29, and concluding astatine Broward County Stadium, Florida, from July 1st to 6th. With 34 matches crossed 3 venues, this volition beryllium the largest nonrecreational cricket tourney ever held successful the USA.READ | A look astatine the venues successful MLCMajor League Cricket has announced that the league volition supply a $3 cardinal nonstop economical boost to Oakland, which becomes the archetypal west-coast metropolis to big top-level cricket.MLC 2025 Season details: