Plymouth to Get City’s First Cricket Pitch
Near the intersection of Peony Lane and Chankahda Trail in Plymouth sits 20 acres of undeveloped land.
But in the not-too-distant future, this area will draw thousands of people for various types of recreation when it’s transformed into a new park.
“Northwest Plymouth is growing. We have houses going in left and right,” said Jason Goehring, Plymouth’s turf & horticulture manager.
Goehring is one of the people overseeing the development of the park known as ‘The Meadows,’ which will offer a variety of amenities.
“Over the last year we’ve narrowed it down to the needs of what the community really is looking for,” Goehring said.
The Meadows, in its current form, is 20 acres of undeveloped land.
The needs, which are outlined in the city’s master plan, include things like trails, pickleball and tennis courts, and shelters for picnics.
Yet perhaps the most unique part of the development will be a cricket pitch.
Cricket is a game played by millions around the world. It never quite took off in the United States, but it exploded in popularity in places like India, Pakistan and the West Indies.
And over the last couple decades, people from those countries moved to west metro suburbs like Plymouth.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am, and so is the cricket community,” said Milind Sohoni, a Wayzata school board member and noted cricket enthusiast.
Sohoni was part of a group that successfully “pitched” the idea to the city of Plymouth to include a cricket pitch in the plans for The Meadows Park.
A group of cricket enthusiasts who came to the Plymouth Parks & Rec Advisory Commission (PRAC) meeting on June 8, which is when the commission approved the project unanimously.
“Popularity has grown quite a bit, and the days of playing cricket on a cul-de-sac or a driveway, or an indoor turf ground, they’re gone,” Sohoni said.
The work to develop The Meadows is still about two years away from being complete.
Until then, crews from Plymouth’s parks and rec department will do their homework to make sure the cricket pitch meets expectations.
“We are really excited for this field to go in,” Goehring said. “All in all, we feel confident in this field and we feel good about it being one of the best cricket fields in Minnesota.”
Construction on the new park is expected to begin in the spring of 2024. Meanwhile, the hope for local cricket enthusiasts, such as Sohoni, is that every Plymouth resident takes an interest in the game and learns how to play.
Related: Maple Grove Opens Cricket Pitch at Boundary Creek Park
