Mumbai,14 May:The Indian Premier League’s final match venue has been shifted out of Wankhede to the D Y Patil Stadium because of its bigger capacity, BCCI President Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday.
"I have taken the decision to host the final in D Y Patil Stadium as we expect more than 6000 people from overseas, including top ICC officials and from other boards.
This stadium (Wankhede) can accommodate only around 32,000 and D Y Patil can house around 55,000. It’s (difference) huge," Pawar told reporters in Mumbai after chairing the managing committee meeting of the Mumbai Cricket Association of which he is the President.
Pawar said the MCA has also decided to demolish the present Wankhede Stadium structure and re-build it from scratch as the present infrastructure was not adequate.
"We had a meeting with the Mumbai Hockey Association and they have given us in writing that one portion of their space can be utilised by us.
There’s no way we can conduct the World Cup final in present conditions. ICC will not accept it. We need to build better facilities for all, including for the media," he said.
"We will start work in August. The whole structure will be razed down first and a fresh one built. The refurbished stadium will be ready by December 2010 and the World Cup is in March-April 2011," he added.
Pawar also said Mumbai has to build a new stadium elsewhere with a capacity of around one lakh."We have some land, but re-development takes time and a lot of conditions have to be fulfilled. But ultimately we have to build a new stadium with a capacity of one lakh. The demand (from public is huge)."
"In this stadium, only around 8,000 tickets are available to the public as we have commitments to give the other seats to sponsors, government and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation leaving few seats to us to distribute to the public."
Courtsey : DD NEWS