Plans are officially underway and in scrutiny for expanding and renovating Chinnaswamy stadium to improve the capacity and overall fan experience. Karnataka State Cricket Association led by Venkatesh Prasad has spoken about the ambitious plan. The proposal will see the capacity of the stadium increase by 20,000 additional seats, the stadium currently boasts of 34,000 seats capacity.
Although there is no specific date announced to start and end this project, the KSCA president has given a clear idea about the main changes that will be done. The project will look onto architectural and structural changes, better crowd management by maintaining better crowd movement with improved parking facilities and traffic management. This as announced was not a sudden planning done by the cricket board but has been in talks for long. As the first formal step, KSCA has issued expressions of interest, inviting proposals for overhaul.
Venkatesh Prasad reveals how KSCA plans on to move ahead with stadium’s transformation
Venkatesh Prasad quoted on the timeline saying, “We haven’t set a timeline for completing the renovation because it’s a lengthy process. We have invited bids and set up multiple meetings to secure various proposals. It will take considerable time. But we are determined to transform the stadium hopefully by the end of my tenure.”
He further said, “ It’s not that I’ve come into office now and want to make changes immediately. I’ve been thinking about this for the last 10 years. Even when I was pursuing my MBA in International Sports Management, I kept coming back to one thing, the spectators. They are our biggest stakeholders, yet they have little say. The game is what it is because of them, and the least we can do is provide the best possible match experience at the stadium”
He further exclaimed that the stadium was then built in 1970s keeping in vision of 50 years but many structures and systems have gotten better in other stadiums like Wankhede and Eden Gardens and the way Bengaluru has evolved as city and population new structures and changes are need of the hour for sure. “So many facilities at the stadium look temporary and inadequate at the moment. Commentators’ boxes, spectator amenities… All that needs to change, and that’s the only constant,” he concluded.
Last year after RCB became IPL champions, there was a huge management issue faced at the stadium eventually leading to death of few supporters due to crowd mismanagement which led to even change of ownership of team, so it is of utmost importance KSCA does the changes needed.
