Construction underway at Maple Leaf CC (from Facebook)

Ray Kinsella, the main character in Canadian WP Kinsella‘s great novel “Shoeless Joe” (filmed as Field of Dreams), builds a baseball diamond in his cornfield after hearing voices telling him “build it and he will come”. The source of the inspiration for the Global T20 tournament is less clear but at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club, set amongst the farmland of King City, north of Toronto, they are building a 7000 seat stadium for the opening match in less than two weeks time.
Whether they will come is also unclear. It seems certain that an impressive collection of international stars will grace the field of dreams, although they may find the rather dated changing facilities of the Maple Leaf CC clubhouse a bit of a come down from those at Lord’s or the MCG, but will those stands be filled by spectators?
There are a number of obstacles that the casual spectator will need to overcome- the location of the ground is not that convenient, 4pm weekday start times, parking at the ground – or a long ride on public transit – but the critcial factor for most will be ticket prices. These have now been announced, and seem to be pitched at the right level. Single game prices range from $30 to $100, with weekend double headers at $50-$150. A base level season pass is $475. Premium pricing is for covered seating and VIP areas are also on sale.

For comparison, Toronto Blue Jays tickets range from $22 to $100 for a single game. a ticket to watch the domestic T20 competition at the Oval in the UK will set you back $65, and an IPL ticket will cost you over $30. It is unfortunate that there are no lower rates for kids – in terms of promotion of the game, these surely are the age group that needs to be at the game.

The acid test will be how full those stands are on June 28th, when Steve Smith and Chris Gayle headline the opening encounter. A near sell-out crowd on a week-day night would be a promising start for the tournament.