Plymouth Celebrates City’s First Cricket Pitch at Meadows Playfield
The city of Plymouth celebrated the opening of the city’s first cricket pitch on Tuesday afternoon.
The cricket pitch is located at Meadows Playfield, a new 18-acre park in the northwest corner of the city.
The park includes pickleball and tennis courts, a sledding hill, a hockey rink with basketball courts and a “Strider bike course” for toddlers.
Plymouth Mayor Jeff Wosje said the cricket pitch has been in high demand by residents for years. He said he first got a request for one when he was campaigning in 2018.
“When I was door-knocking, one of the first homes– there was somebody who had emigrated from Pakistan, and he asked me: ‘How come Plymouth doesn’t have a cricket pitch?'” Wosje said. “So, we’ve been working on it ever since. I’m proud we are here today, opening one up.”
Mayor Jeff Wosje practices hitting a cricket ball at Meadows Playfield.
Wosje said he heard from all voices in the community to make the cricket pitch happen.
Nick Beecher is one of those community members and co-founder of the Minnesota Youth Cricket Academy. He said a place to specifically play cricket is exciting.
“A lot of times we were playing on soccer fields or baseball diamonds that were great and did well, but weren’t designed for the sport to be played in its true form. So, having this here in Plymouth where the majority of our players live… is just amazing,” Beecher said.
There is still some work to be done to finalize the pitch. Once its done, Beecher said it will be great for practice and games with spectators.
The city said construction for the new park started last April and cost $6 million to put together.
Meadows Playfield is Plymouth’s 69th park. It’s located just off of Chankhada Trail and Peony Lane in northwest Plymouth.
Members of the Minnesota Youth Cricket Academy stand around Nick Beecher. Beecher says many of the team’s members are from the Plymouth area.
