The Knight Riders Cricket Ground in Pomona, California, will serve as the cricket venue for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta on Thursday termed the “ground breaking” of the cricket venue as the fulfilment of a long-awaited “promise”, noting that the facility will bring the sport to the global showpiece.

“This is a moment in history because what we are breaking ground on today is not simply a cricket field. We are breaking ground on a promise. A promise that took 128 years to keep,” Gupta said.

He said cricket’s return to the Olympics after more than a century marked recognition of the sport’s global appeal, following the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approving its inclusion in the Los Angeles Games.

“That’s how long the world’s second most popular sport, a game played and passionately followed by more than 2.5 billion people, has been missing from the Olympic stage.”

Cricket returns to the Olympics for the first time since 1900.

ICC chairman Jay Shah welcomed the development. “These are very exciting times for the game of cricket as it makes giant strides in establishing itself as a global sport.

“Our focus has been on expanding the footprint of cricket and being part of the Olympic movement is something that brings both pride and dreams with it,” Shah said.

The venue at Fairplex will serve as LAKR’s home venue in the upcoming MLC season. Overall, seven matches are scheduled to be held there, including LAKR’s first three home fixtures.

“This is a defining moment... not just for the Knight Riders, but for cricket in America. We see strong potential to grow the game and connect with the community in Southern California to lead this next phase of cricket’s growth in the US,” said Knight Riders' chief executive Venky Mysore.