Cricket participation in the United States is accelerating. With the sport returning to the Olympic Games at LA28, demand is rising for venues that meet professional match-day standards while handling intensive year-round use.
The Knight Riders Cricket Ground at Fairplex in Pomona, California, is one example of that shift. Developed as the home venue of the Los Angeles Knight Riders, the facility hosts Major League Cricket matches and adds to a growing network of purpose-built cricket infrastructure across the country.
A compressed construction timeline
The LandTek Group, a TenCate company, served as design-build contractor. The scope covered site preparation, grading, drainage, utilities, field construction, and a professionally installed natural grass cricket square.
Construction began in April 2026. Roughly two months later, the venue hosted its first Major League Cricket match. More than 32,000 metric tons of material were moved to prepare the site before surface installation could begin.
Designing around how the field is used
Cricket places specific demands on a playing surface. The central wicket requires consistent pace and bounce. Surrounding areas absorb intensive player movement, event foot traffic, and variable weather conditions.
The Knight Riders Cricket Ground addresses those different requirements through surface-specific engineering. The natural grass cricket square handles match play. TenCate synthetic turf covers the warning track and circulation zones, where durability and availability matter most.
Each surface was selected based on function, not uniformity. That kind of zoned approach is increasingly common in venues designed for high utilization across multiple use cases.
Performance validated through research
Surface development at TenCate draws on laboratory testing, field validation, and player feedback conducted through the Center for Turf Innovation. Although this venue includes both natural and synthetic surfaces, the same principle applies throughout: design decisions are driven by how athletes interact with the playing area.
That approach extends across professional stadiums, training facilities, and community fields.
What this signals for U.S. cricket infrastructure
The Knight Riders Cricket Ground reflects broader investment in the sport’s physical infrastructure across the United States. As cricket prepares for its Olympic return in Los Angeles in 2028, venues that deliver consistent playing conditions under heavy scheduling demands will be a practical requirement, not an aspiration.
Projects like this illustrate how specialized construction and surface expertise can support emerging sports markets at a professional level.
About TenCate
At TenCate, we design and deliver the future of turf. With over 300 years of expertise and nearly 5,000 employees worldwide, we’re a truly global company with strong local roots. We offer high-performance, turf systems for sports, landscaping, and outdoor living across more than 60 countries. Fully vertically integrated, we manage everything from R&D to recycling, working hand-in-hand with trusted local partners who bring deep expertise and on-the-ground insight. Whether it’s a world-class stadium or a community field, we deliver surfaces that perform, last, and support vibrant, active lives.
For more, visit www.tencategrass.com.
