The Midwestern US city best known for one of the world’s highest profile car races is preparing for a proper game of cricket.

Indianapolis is spending $US6 million ($A6.6 million) to equip one of its parks with a cricket pitch and space for Gaelic football, rugby, hurling and other sports mainly popular overseas.

Mayor Greg Ballard hopes his World Sports Park project brings international exposure and helps local companies attract talented overseas workers by offering them a home for their favourite games.

“These are global sports and they’ll give us more visibility in the global marketplace,” he said.

Cities across the US are jockeying for any advantage to boost economic development, and sports is an easy target. Professional sports teams pump millions into local economies in the cities that host them.

But can a sport that most Americans are unfamiliar with have the same payoff? It’s a gamble, said Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert at San Francisco’s Baker Street Advertising.

“How do you sell it to a public who really doesn’t understand it? To me cricket is a fairly mystifying sport,” Dorfman said.

The mayor isn’t daunted. Indianapolis has already signed a three-year deal to host a US amateur cricket tournament and championship, starting in August 2014.

“When people around the world think of cricket, I want them to think of Indianapolis,” he told media in India during a trade visit in April.

Some local politicians have criticised Ballard for the project at a time when the city faces a $US50 million budget deficit.

But cricket supporters insist Ballard’s vision can become a reality.