The city of Allen, Texas, a suburb just north of Dallas and home to one of the country's first $60 million high school stadiums, may someday be home to another unique venue.
According to the Guardian, Allen has been targeted as the possible site for a $500 million, 15,000-capacity multi-use stadium that would center around supporting the sport of cricket.
While the venue would include training facilities, residential and retail units, the primary aim is to establish a footprint for the world’s second most popular sport. The Guardian reports that the stadium would eventually play host to a professional cricket team competing in a US-wide Twenty20 league.
While Texas is typically known as a football state, the proposed Allen Sports Village has generated a lot of buzz, both positive and negative. Some residents are concerned about the traffic and noise pollution, while others say the stadium will be an economic boon to the area.
The stadium is partly the brainchild of Philadelphia-based businessman Jignesh Pandya who views the project as part of a multibillion-dollar plan to bring cricket to the United States. Pandya hopes to eventually spread eight cricket arenas across the country.
For now it could all be pie in the sky, as the city of Allen hasn’t yet agreed to anything.
“The concept plan is currently under staff technical review with the City of Allen. Projects must go through the planning and zoning process before it is determined what, if any, incentives would be given to a developer,” a statement from the city government said.
Pandya’s initial plan highlighted the eight stadium sites as Atlanta, Washington DC, Florida, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and California.
The plan is aimed at serving the interests of the growing, five million-strong south Asian community in the US.
