Ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023, the venues where the matches of the tournament will be played are all set for major upgrades and ever-complete overhauls as BCCI is leaving no stone unturned to provide the best experience it can to the teams visiting the country for the event.
World Cup 2023 games will be hosted in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Dharamsala, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Kolkata. Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram stage warm-up games.
Every World Cup stadium will get a grant of Rs 50 crore to upgrade its infrastructure ahead of the big tournament. The Indian cricket board has budgeted for more than Rs 500 crore to be distributed among the 10 World Cup venues.
To begin with, Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, which will host four league matches and one semi-final, will be getting its outfield re-laid, while upgrading to new LED lighting, as well as renovating the corporate boxes and toilets.
Mumbai Cricket Association president Amol Kale assured that the Wankhede Stadium, which hosted the 2011 final, will be providing world-class infrastructure and the best hospitality service.
“The process of infrastructure upgradation has already begun including a new outfield, upgrading to new LED lighting, renovation of the corporate boxes, and renovated new toilets,” Kale said to Indian Express.
The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is installing new LED lights and the square has been dug up to implant two red soil pitches. Lucknow, which is hosting India’s game against England, will be relaying its pitches that received a lot of flak during the IPL.
Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium is refurbishing its seating and toilets. On the other hand, the HCA Stadium in Dharamsala is seeing major renovations as it is set to host five World Cup matches, including the India v New Zealand tie.
A new drainage system that has 6,000 meters of specialty pipes has been installed, an air-evacuation system that can get rid of excess rainwater in quick time, ryegrass reportedly best suitable for the cold weather, and river sand and gravel tested at a lab in Scotland have been used on the outfield.
“We re-laid the whole surface of the stadium and we did a makeover of VVIP and hospitality boxes too. We hired the best expert for the relaying process. We wanted to ensure we have good drainage facilities and got grass from abroad.
We changed a few seats, and painted the stands. There was a leakage problem, we fixed that too. We wanted to ensure that after rain, the game should start as soon as possible,” Arun Dhumal, an HPCA member told The Indian Express.
Maharashtra Cricket Association president Rohit Pawar explained that the ongoing Maharashtra Premier League (MPL) has given them a fair idea of areas of improvement for the Pune stadium.
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“We will see if we can have a few stands which can be covered, as three-quarters of the stadium doesn’t have a roof. We want to provide basic facilities like clean toilets, good roads, and ample parking space. If any seats are in bad shape we will be replacing them. We will see whether the fencing metal is ok, the ticket readers are working or not. Our drainage system is fine, and so are the floodlights,” Pawar said.
The Arun Jaitley stadium, one of the oldest in the country, is getting new spectator seating and toilets are being refurbished, apart from upgrading the ticketing software.
“The floodlights at the stadium are of good quality, so we don’t have to change them. However, the seats are being changed and the toilets renovated. The software at the turnstiles will also be upgraded so the entry process for fans is smooth,” DDCA joint secretary Rajan Manchanda said.
The World Cup begins on October 5 with New Zealand and England clashing at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
(Indian Express inputs)
