How Morrisville plans to bring Major League Cricket back to Wake County
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Morrisville lost 2025 Major League Cricket games due to venue and facility gaps.
- Town seeks tourism funds to expand Church Street Park with lights and pitches.
- Wake County offers $23.5M in tourism grants for qualified tourism projects.
After two years of hosting Major League Cricket matches, the town of Morrisville was not selected this year.
“It’s fair to say we’re disappointed,” Town Manager Brandon Zuidema said. “We enjoy being able to host those matches and bring that spotlight, if you will, to Morrisville.”
Morrisville’s Church Street Park was one of two venues picked for Major League Cricket’s first two seasons.
But the league did not come back in 2025, instead hosting games in Grand Prairie, Texas; Central Broward Park in Florida; and the Oakland Coliseum in California
Major League Cricket did not respond to a request for comment about the venue change.
Some games played last year in Morrisville were delayed due to drainage and flooding issues. The town also needs better lights for broadcasting games.
Now the town hopes new tourism money will help improve and expand Church Street Park.
“We have a very unique field here,” Zuidema said. “We have one of the best pitches in the country, and we have a lot of opportunity here. And, of course, we have a tremendous amount of community support.”
“But as the sport grows, other stadiums grow,” he added. “We do expect that there will be potentially more teams in Major League Cricket, and we certainly expect to see matches in the future.”
Wake County tourism money
Wake County has a tax on the sale of prepared food and beverages that is used to promote tourism.
Money has gone toward significant projects in the county including $300 million for the renovation of the Lenovo Center and $355 million for the expansion of the Raleigh Convention Center.
Municipalities, nonprofits and businesses will compete for $23.5 million in tourism funding available later this year, said Wake County Assistant Manager Michael James.
Church Street Park has northern and southern lots. The town just finished renovating the southern lot to add cricket practice pitches, a lighted basketball court, outdoor volleyball courts and a multipurpose sports court.
The northern lot is where lighting and drainage issues will be resolved, and Morrisiville wants to expand the number of pitches from four to six.
“Our council and our staff are both committed to cricket,” Zuidema said. “We appreciate its value to the community and to the region. We look forward to continuing to see cricket grow at the professional and the non-professional level on down through seeing youth get involved.”
“I could not be prouder of what we’ve accomplished for cricket in Morrisville,” Town Council member Steve Rao said. “Hosting Major League Cricket has elevated Morrisville’s national profile and delivered real economic benefit, from packed hotels to tourism dollars supporting our small businesses.”
“I’m incredibly optimistic about Morrisville’s cricket future and the role Wake County can play in taking it even further,” he said.
