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TROY — The city of Troy celebrated the grand opening of its full-size cricket field at Boulan Park May 14, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and community cricket clinic.
Area representatives had been working to bring a cricket field to the city of Troy since the early 2000s. State Rep. Sharon MacDonell was able to secure funding for the project in 2023.
“I’m not going to get too deep into the weeds, but every time we were ready to invest in funds at the city level into something related to cricket, there was an unexpected expense of priorities — like public safety or core infrastructure — that always had to go first,” said Mayor Ethan Baker. “Which finally got us to the point where, a couple years ago, (MacDonell) took up this big, big job of trying to get some state grant funding from Lansing, bringing some tax dollars back to the city of Troy (for the project).”
The city received a $900,000 state grant that helped pay for the construction of the full-size cricket field. MacDonell also worked with local community officials and cricket league leaders to lobby for the grant.
At the opening, MacDonell recalled how it all came together.
“It’s rare to be able to get something you want that quickly, but … as they approved other things we were (budgeting), like the $10 million for the sound walls, I was like, ‘Do we still have any leeway on the cricket field?’ And they told me we did, but that decisions were going to be made soon,” she said. “I said to everybody, ‘Now’s the time to go crazy — get on the phone, here’s the website, this is who you must contact (in Lansing). All these people did that, everybody felt very nagged, and like four days later, they said, ‘OK Sharon, you can have your cricket field.’”
Construction on the field began in August 2024. There were some delays in the project, which allowed for city officials to sod and irrigate the field, and account for additional equipment. The project was then completed May 1, 2026.
The venue is southeast Michigan’s first full-size cricket field, featuring a scoreboard, covered dugouts and permanent sight screens. The field also includes a hybrid pitch made of synthetic turf and clay, the first of its kind in Michigan.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, attendees were invited to participate in a community cricket clinic, which allowed people to learn the basics of the game with some of the area’s most dedicated players.
For more information, visit troymi.gov or michcausa.org.
