Watch: Shah Rukh Khan Makes History, Unveils LA Knight Riders Cricket Ground
SRK unveiled the Knight Riders Cricket Ground in California, making KKR the first global cricket franchise to own an international cricket stadium.
The Knight Riders Group has officially etched its name into the sporting history books by becoming the very first global cricket brand to establish its own international cricket stadium. Unveiled by Bollywood superstar and franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan, the spectacular new Knight Riders Cricket Ground is located at the Fairplex in Pomona, California. Taking to social media in a joint post with the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR), SRK shared an emotional message alongside a video revealing the grand entrance of the facility.
The ‘Badshah of Bollywood’ wrote, “What started as a dream… turns into reality today. Welcoming you all to the Knight Riders Cricket Ground, LA. A place built not just for sports but also entertainment and for families… and memories that last forever. Special thanks to Jaybhai who has been too kind through this journey @JayShah220988, & @ICC and Sanjog Gupta for being so supportive.” He concluded the dedication with, “This is for LA, for cricket fans across the globe, and for the Knight Riders family. Believe in Purple and Gold. Welcome to the home of @lakriders.”
Check out Shah Rukh Khan’s post here:
The post instantly exploded online, garnering over 3,52,000 likes in just eight hours. The historic update drew cheers from his daughter Suhana Khan and a proud comment from close friend and filmmaker Farah Khan, who aptly wrote, "Only you could do this". The accompanying video montage also beautifully highlighted images of franchise stars like Ali Khan and Sunil Narine.
Breaking ground with a massive USD 21 million investment, the purpose-built venue is a marvel of modern sports infrastructure. During construction, more than 32,000 metric tonnes of earth were moved to create this elite playing arena. The stadium boasts ICC-standard playing dimensions, eight wickets on the main square, and is illuminated by six towering 120-foot floodlight towers. Currently opening with a 5,000-seat capacity, there are ambitious plans in place to expand the stands to 12,000 by 2027, and finally up to 15,000 by 2028.
The timing of this expansion is crucial, as the venue is expected to play a key role when cricket makes its highly anticipated return to the Summer Olympics at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. This marks a monumental moment for the sport, which is making an Olympic comeback after a 128-year gap, having only been played once before at the 1900 Paris Olympics. In the immediate future, the stadium serves as the permanent home for the Los Angeles Knight Riders. The ground is already hosting its first competitive action, with a total of seven matches scheduled during the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC) season from July 1 to July 5, kicking off with LAKR taking on the Washington Freedom.
Adding a distinctively American flavour to the cricketing milestone, NBA Champion and Los Angeles Lakers icon Ron Artest – popularly known as Metta World Peace – was tapped to throw the ceremonial first ball at the inaugural MLC match. This exciting crossover perfectly highlights the Knight Riders' grand ambition to seamlessly blend cricket into the vibrant sporting culture of mainstream America.
Meanwhile, on the film front, SRK will be next seen in Siddharth Anand’s ‘King’. The 2026 movie will mark Shah Rukh’s daughter Suhana Khan’s theatrical acting debut. For the unversed, Suhana started her acting career with Netflix’s 2023 movie ‘The Archies’. Apart from SRK and Suhana, ‘King’ also stars Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Arshad Warsi, Jaideep Ahlawat and more.
