From City of Churches to City of Angels: Meet the Aussie curator behind the LA 2028 Olympic cricket venue
Olympic cricket is a step closer to reality following the official opening of the T20 venue for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games — and Australia’s Damian Hough has played a crucial role in making it happen.
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Located in Pomona, Los Angeles, the brand-new facility hosted its first competitive match earlier this month when the LA Knight Riders took on Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket, the United States’ domestic T20 competition, featuring Australian stars such as Steve Smith, Mitch Owen and Ben Dwarshuis.
Known as the ‘Knight Riders Cricket Ground’ the US$21 million venue was built in less than 70 days and was fully funded by the Knight Riders Group — the global sports franchise led by Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan which also owns the Kolkata Knight Riders (IPL), Trinbago Knight Riders (CPL) and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ILT20).
Currently seating just 5,000 spectators, the modular ground will be significantly expanded in the lead-up to the 2028 Olympics, transforming into a permanent 15,000-seat stadium with new grandstands, hospitality suites and broadcast facilities.
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Behind the scenes of the Olympic venue’s rapid construction is Australia’s Damian Hough, head curator at the Adelaide Oval since 2010, who has overseen the preparation of the all-important LA playing surface.
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Considered a global expert on drop-in pitches, Hough trained in Adelaide under legendary curator Les Burdett and now works as an international pitch consultant in addition to his duties at the Adelaide Oval.
With Los Angeles set to mark cricket’s Olympic return after a 128-year absence — a single match was played at the 1900 Paris Games between France and Great Britain — the Knight Riders Cricket Ground is considered a critical piece of what Games organisers and the ICC hope are banking on being be a landmark Olympic tournament in the USA.
The 2028 Olympics will feature Men’s and Women’s T20 competitions with just six nations each.
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