BCA all set to take Reliance stadium on 30 years lease

Vadodara

Baroda Cricket Association (BCA), the home organisation of legendary cricketers like Chandu Borde and Vijay Hazare along with several modern day stars including Irfan and Yusuf Pathan, is all set to formalise an agreement with the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance group to take its IPCL ground in Vadodara on a minimum 30 years lease and modernise it with the financial help of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd Sports Complex Ground popularly known as IPCL ground or simply Reliance stadium has so far hosted around 10 ODI matches since 1994.

The earlier home of the BCA, Moti Baug stadium situated in the Laxmi Vilas Palace premises in the middle of the city now only organise first class matches and has not seen an international match for over 15 years now.

‘We received an offer from the Reliance group and held an emergency meeting of our managing committee today which authorised committee member and former IPL chief Mr. Chirayu Amin to look in to the nitty grity of the offer and prepare a report to be tabled in the next meeting of the committee,’ the Joint Secretary of BCA Mr. Snehal Parikh said.

‘Mr. Amin will put his report before the managing committee in its next meeting and the lease agreement would be formalised soon after.The lease would be of at least 30 years duration and the BCCI would provide half of the expenses to modernise the existing stadium. Its capacity is also expected to be doubled from the existing 15 to 20 thousand,’ Mr Parikh said.

Expressing happiness over the development the BCA official said that it was a welcome step as the Reliance stadium would become a proud international event venue in the city. ‘It is good for Vadodara cricket,’ he said,

Mr. Parikh said that as per the existing BCCI rules a cricket association should either have its own stadium or must have a leased one with a minimum duration of 30 years. ‘Several stadiums in the country which host international matches are leased ones,’ he claimed.

DeshGujarat