Los Angeles Knight Riders will, at long last, have a ground they can call their own. The Knight Riders group late on Tuesday confirmed that “Knight Riders Cricket Field” at Fairplex in Pomona, California, will stage several LAKR fixtures in the 2026 Major League Cricket campaign.
No MLC side has enjoyed a settled home venue since the league launched three summers ago. Matches have been shared around – Oakland, then Dallas, a stint in Lauderhill, and back to Dallas for the knock-outs – good for spreading the word but never ideal for players or travelling supporters. A June-July window has again been pencilled in for 2026, only this time LAKR will sleep in the same beds more often than not.
“The USA is a great sporting market with passionate fans, and we hope this field becomes a place where people come together to celebrate the game and support the team,” co-owner Shah Rukh Khan said. “I’m really looking forward to this new chapter for the Knight Riders in Los Angeles.”
The 500-acre Fairplex site is best known for the LA County Fair – organisers bill it among the largest fairs in the country – yet its diary already includes trade shows, concerts and the odd motor race. Cricket, then, is the next cab off the rank. “As the home of the LA County Fair, one of the largest fairs in the country, we are excited to partner with Knight Riders to present cricket, one of the world’s largest sports, on our campus,” Fairplex president and chief executive Walter M. Marquez said. “Fairplex continues to seek new experiences that are unique to Southern California and the Knight Riders will create the field where community will come together and celebrate.”
How the ground might fit into the Los Angeles Olympics, when cricket returns to the Games in 2028 after – somehow – a 128-year absence, is an open question. Organisers have options closer to the city centre, but a purpose-built wicket thirty miles east will not hurt the bid.
On the field LAKR remain title-less, having missed the MLC final in each of the first three seasons. A settled base, decent square and a bit of home advantage would not solve every issue – they still need runs and wickets – though it should trim the travel fatigue and hand their growing fan base somewhere obvious to congregate.
A small but welcome step, then, towards a more traditional home-and-away rhythm for a competition still feeling its way.
