GSV Plans $2.4B on Cricket Infrastructure Development in U.S.

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Global Sports Ventures, a sports development company, last week announced plans to professionalize cricket in the United States with an estimated $2.4 billion in infrastructure and business development that will drive economic growth across 8 states.

The announcement Feb. 1 came on the heels of GSV’s recent $70 million licensing agreement of T20 rights from the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA). The T20 format is much shorter than the previously-existing form of cricket, and is closer to the time span of other popular team sports in the United States.

GSV said in a press release it plans to create a league that allows athletes to compete at the highest level while providing fans and audiences the ability to enjoy the game at GSV’s world-class facilities. This will be a strong foundation, the release said, when the International Cricket Council hosts any tournament in line with its strategic framework for U.S.A. cricket, potentially hosting the ICC World Twenty20 in 2024.

GSV claimed it is actively working with legislators to develop 26,000 plus-seat stadiums in New York, New Jersey, Washington DC, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Illinois and California.

“We are delighted to receive so much positive feedback and commitment from officials on a state level, and we’re dedicated to working with local communities and businesses to provide an estimated economic output upwards of $100 million per city,” said Jignesh (Jay) Pandya, Chairman of Global Sports Ventures.

The cricket-centric, multi-purpose entertainment stadiums and lifestyle centers will create approximately 17,800 new jobs, including 1,500 constructions and 725 permanent jobs per location, with opportunities in medical and rehab services, merchandising and procurement, media and broadcasting and tourism development, among others, the release said.

“We are excited to welcome this opportunity that Global Sports Ventures have brought to us, as it will be a great addition to the professional sports network that we already have in San Francisco,” Dennis Conaghan, Executive Director of San Francisco Center for Economic Development, said. “It also reinforces our city’s reputation as not just the capital of innovation and technology, but as an exciting and diverse global hub for culture, arts and sport,” he said.

GSV said that each of these locations will cost an estimated $300 million and will generate approximately $8 billion in direct and indirect salaries over the next 20 years.