The Brian Lara Cricket Academy is a multi-purpose stadium in
Tarouba, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, that was completed
and inaugurated in 2017.[1] It will be used mostly for cricket matches.
It is located in southern Trinidad, just outside the heart of the city of
San Fernando, beside the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway, about two
kilometres southeast of Trinidad and Tobago’s former cricket ground at
Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre.
Four Group Stage matches involving
hosts West Indies, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, Uganda and
Afghanistan as well as the June 26 first
semi-final. Those are the scheduled
matches to be played at Trinidad &
Tobago’s Brian Lara Cricket Stadium
during this year’s 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.
Built to hold 15,000 people in a mix of fixed
seating and grass banks it is named after
former West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara,
who until 17 October 2008 was the all-time
leading run scorer in Test cricket, until he was
surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar..
Built to hold 15,000 people in a mix of fixed
seating and grass banks it is named after
former West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara,
who until 17 October 2008 was the all-time
leading run scorer in Test cricket, until he was
surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar.
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It was initially planned to host warm-up
matches during the 2007 Cricket World
Cup and serve as a cricket academy after
the tournament. However when it became
apparent that the facility would not be
completed in time for the tournament the
warm-up matches were instead hosted at
the Frank Worrell Field at UWI St Augustine.
The Caribbean Premier League chose the
Brian Lara Cricket Academy as the host for
the final matches of the 2017 tournament,
the first high-profile matches at the ground.
Subsequent to this the Government of
Trinidad and Tobago further purchased the
rights to hold the CPL finals from 2018 through
to 2020 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
The Brian Lara Cricket Academy was
commissioned in 2004 by the Government
of Trinidad and Tobago through the state
company UDeCOTT to provide a high class
sporting venue for the 2007 Cricket World
Cup. With Trinidad and Tobago receiving the
Brown Package of matches and the use of the
Queens Park Oval as the primary venue,
the Brian Lara facility was earmarked to
host warm-up matches. To be ready for
the Cricket World Cup the facility had
to be completed by February 2007 and
game ready by March 2007.
Major design and construction
problems kept pushing back the
completion date as well as increasing
the construction cost. Once it became
apparent it would not be ready for
the World Cup, matches were shifted
to the grounds at UWI. The delays and
costs have made the complex one of
the more controversial infrastructure
projects undertaken in Trinidad and
Tobago. The initial cost was estimated
to be TT$257 million but with the cost
overruns and the increase in prices of
materials, in 2009 the estimated costs
were TT$700 million and by the time the
facility was eventually opened in 2017
the costs had exceeded TT$1billion.