We, the undersigned Van Cortlandt Park users and community members, strongly oppose the use of the Van Cortlandt Park Parade Ground for the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup. We stand with the local elected leaders, business and environmental groups, park stewards, schools, and cricket, baseball, soccer, and track organizations who have voiced similar opposition.

A public park is not an appropriate site for a 20-acre stadium seating 34,000 people for a private, ticketed event. Closure of this space to the public for a minimum of 7 months is a misuse of public parkland, displacing tens of thousands of park users and cutting off the valuable public recreational and cultural programming that regularly occurs on this site.

We are further concerned about the negative impacts on Van Cortlandt Park and the surrounding area. The scale, construction, and extended duration of the proposal will result in significant damage to the Parade Ground, making it impossible to fully restore to public use in a reasonable timeframe. It is likely that the project would cause damage to 30% of the Parade Ground, and could require up to 2 additional years to ameliorate, resulting in no public access during that time.

Thus far, there has been no study executed that would ensure protection of the Parade Ground, its natural resources and wildlife, specifically the many species of birds who visit the lawn as their primary source of food. There has been no guarantee that the Enslaved African Burial Ground would be protected from the enormous crowds associated with the tournament. An event of this scale requires traffic and parking studies as well as an understanding of the extensive electrical and plumbing impacts. And, perhaps most importantly, thousands of Bronx children and teens will not have access to their primary green space and sports fields for an unspecified amount of time.

ICC has yet to share a proper timeline with the community for repairing the damage done to the field. They have only made vague promises to repair cricket pitches in the park. At the very least, there should be clear and significant restitution for what will surely be an enormous disruption and inconvenience for an entire community.

Beyond the negative impacts on the park, park users, and the community, there is not sufficient time for the New York City and ICC to transparently advance the proposal through the lengthy legal and approvals processes required for a project of this magnitude, while soliciting and incorporating community feedback.

With all of the above listed considerations, Van Cortlandt Park is not an appropriate site for a temporary stadium for the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup.

We urge the City and ICC to look elsewhere for a more suitable location.