GT20 cricket tournament returns to Brampton with goal of being bigger than the Super Bowl

Move over, Super Bowl. The GT20 Cricket Tournament is coming back to Brampton and organizers say it could eclipse the big game for the most-watched sporting event in North America.

The Global T20 (GT20) Cricket Tournament returns to Brampton this summer after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and organizers say the event will be broadcast to more than 100 countries.

The tournament was the second-most-watched sporting event in North America in 2019 with some 113 million viewers, eclipsed only by the Super Bowl. But organizers say the GT20 is expecting more than 200 million viewers this year when the tournament gets underway in July.

Six teams from across Canada will take part in the tournament including the Brampton Wolves, who won 4 of their 7 matches in 2019, the Surrey Jaguars, and the returning 2019 championship-winning Winnipeg Hawks.

The City has a limited capacity for cricket, but the GT20 team will build a temporary stadium in just 8 weeks to hold the event. Staff will also work with the City to make the structure available to local sporting groups once the tournament wraps. There will also be some international cricket stars coming to town for clinics with youth and local groups.

The City saw an economic impact of $30 million in 2019 thanks to the tournament, according to GT20. The tournament brought a spike in tourism to Brampton with some 44 per cent of the 75,000 tickets sold for the 2019 tournament purchased by people living outside of Ontario, including 6,700 tickets sold in the U.S.

Brampton City Council passed a motion on Wednesday (May 31) to sponsor the tournament in principle at a value of $300,000, and waive fees for the use of cricket facilities at the Brampton Sports Park.

While the GT20 facilities are only temporary, Brampton is looking for partners to build a new cricket stadium and sports and entertainment district that could be the future home of events like GT20. The site is currently home to the CAA Centre, but the City has plans to transform the area into a sports, entertainment and retail hub centred around a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose cricket facility.

The 2023 GT20 Cricket Tournament will run from July 20 until Aug. 6. For more information visit www.GT20.ca.