San Francisco unveil Unicorns in Major League Cricket

The San Francisco Unicorns will make their debut in the inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) season this summer, with the team to represent the Bay Area.

Cricket Victoria recently announced a new partnership with the San Francisco-based franchise for the opening season.

The Bay Area team will wear orange, light blue and navy blue colors from their logo representing the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean respectively. The Unicorns will be one of six teams competing this July in MLC, a transformative competition that will bring many of the world’s top cricketers to the United States for the first time.

A myth no longer ????

Charging across the Golden Gate Bridge and through the fog is the Bay Area’s first professional cricket team, the San Francisco Unicorns ???? ????

Find out all about the new legends in town ➡️ https://t.co/OCRyUfjsta pic.twitter.com/ymTBjxac7F

— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) March 17, 2023

The Unicorns will play for the first time this season at an MLC venue made exclusively for cricket – Grand Prairie Stadium, in Grand Prairie, Texas within the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex.

The 2023 season will feature 19 matches to be played over 18 days, starting July 13 and building up to the first-ever MLC championship final to take place on July 30, 2023. The Unicorns will compete alongside teams representing Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Washington D.C. playing the explosive T20 format.

The roster for the Unicorns will be filled out in the next week, with multiple marquee overseas stars to be announced. The top domestic-based players will be selected at the MLC Domestic Player Draft on Sunday, March 19 in Houston. Space Center Houston, the official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center, will provide an iconic venue and backdrop for the league’s first-ever draft. Fans will be able to follow the draft live via a special show to be broadcast on the MLC Network YouTube channel.

San Francisco has partnered with one of the world’s leading cricket entities, Cricket Victoria, to prepare the team for on-field success during the inaugural season of MLC. Cricket Victoria representatives will be in attendance at the MLC Player Draft, as they assist in compiling a talented squad for the Unicorns ahead of MLC’s inaugural season.

Might this be the first cricket team named the Unicorns?? ????

Send evidence of others if we're wrong ???? pic.twitter.com/C3ePDOf4VS

— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) March 17, 2023

“The San Francisco Bay Area is a true hotbed for cricket and we can’t wait to represent the entire area with the Unicorns competing in the historic Major League Cricket event this summer,” said Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, lead investors in the San Francisco team. “In the 21st century, the term ‘unicorn’ has been used to denote exceptional talent or potential, whether it be a sportsperson or a Silicon Valley startup. Our San Francisco Unicorns have an extraordinary opportunity to represent all the fans of the world’s second largest sport in the Bay Area in a special and unique fashion on and off the field.”

While San Francisco will not host home matches in the 2023 season, MLC and the Unicorns are aiming to build a world-class home for the team in the Bay Area. Feasibility studies for a development on a 14-acre site on the Santa Clara Fairgrounds in San José is currently underway in partnership with Santa Clara County. The stadium would seat up to 15,000 people and be capable of hosting major international cricket events. Other plans for the complex include state-of-the-art training facilities, locker rooms, luxury suites, dedicated parking and an international grade pitch to meet International Cricket Council accreditation.