Four seasons in, Major League Cricket has gone from experimental start-up to a league genuinely shaping how American sports fans discover cricket — and the 2026 season provided some of the clearest evidence yet.
## Season 4 Recap
MLC’s fourth season ran from June 18 to July 18, 2026, featuring the same six franchises — Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom — across 34 matches. Los Angeles Knight Riders won their first-ever title, beating Washington Freedom by just one run in a thrilling final at the Oakland Coliseum on July 18.
## The Investment Behind the Growth
American Cricket Enterprises, MLC’s owner, has now poured more than $150 million into US cricket infrastructure since 2019, with plans to match that investment again over the coming years. The stated goal: 10 international-standard cricket venues across the country by 2030. Construction began in April 2026 on a purpose-built venue at Fairplex in Pomona, California — a ground designed to eventually serve as an Olympic cricket venue.
## Season 3’s Record Numbers Set the Stage
MLC’s 2025 season, its third, set new records across ticket sales (up 53% year-on-year), broadcast reach (more than 90 countries, roughly 54 million homes) and social engagement (45% growth). The league also debuted in new markets, staging matches at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Broward County Stadium in Florida for the first time.
## Expansion Plans
MLC intends to grow from six teams to eight by 2027, with Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Toronto shortlisted for new franchises. A move into Canada is under active exploration, which would make MLC the first major domestic T20 league to formally cross into a second country.
## Why the 2028 LA Olympics Loom Large
Cricket returns to the Olympic programme in Los Angeles in 2028 for the first time in 128 years, and MLC’s infrastructure push is explicitly designed around that deadline. The league’s Fairplex venue project is the clearest example of this dual purpose — built for MLC now, repurposed for Olympic cricket later. That timeline also overlaps with the sport’s other major 2027-28 milestone, the [2027 Cricket World Cup in Africa](/icc-cricket-world-cup-2027-schedule-guide), giving cricket back-to-back global moments to leverage for growth in new markets.
## The Bigger Picture for US Cricket
MLC’s rise sits alongside a broader wave of cricket investment in non-traditional markets. Just as [The Hundred](/the-hundred-tournament-guide) reshaped its ownership model with outside capital in 2026, MLC’s ACE-backed growth strategy suggests private investment, rather than board-run models alone, is increasingly how the sport expands into new territory. Whether that translates into a sustainable American fanbase by 2030 remains the league’s defining question.