The iconic M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai has staged some intruding clashes in Indian cricketing history. But the management in charge of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association(TNCA) has been surrounded by some controversies off late. The newly built stands at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium have shut down since the day they were constructed illegally without the permission of the authorities. The stands have remained empty since then adding to the TNCA’s financial miseries.
But the TNCA is hopeful it will get the nod to open up the stands for the India-Australia clash on 17th September. TNCA has received positive response from the state government recently. TNCA joint-secretary R.I. Palani suggested that reopening the stands would open up 12,000 additional seats and would be a popular decision amongst the public.
He said:
“Even if the clearance is only for a one-off match like the India-Australia game, it is all right for the TNCA. As many as 12,000 additional seats will be available to the public, such a move by the Government will be extremely popular with the cricket fans in the city and State. We are very hopeful this time of a positive outcome regarding the stands.”
Palani was concerned with the hike in the prices of the tickets but said there’s nothing that could be done about GST.
“We can do nothing about the taxes and the GST. One has to shell out Rs 800 for a Rs 500 ticket, RS 3000 for RS 1800, and Rs 8000 for Rs 5000.”
About the lease issue with the government, Palani was optimistic about the process,
“The previous lease ended in 1995, we applied the same year and the approval came only in 2004 for a 20-year period that concluded in 2015. So, this is nothing new. The process takes its own time. We have been getting permission from the State government to hold various matches and we have got most of the clearances for the India-Australia match too.”
He also insisted that it is impossible for TNCA to clear the dues to the government as it has received limited funds from the BCCI.
“Only for the last 10 years, we have been getting between Rs 25 to 30 crore from the BCCI every year. Even if you include the numbers from the last 10 years it would only be around Rs 300 crore plus close to Rs 50 crore in gate collections.”
To host the Australian team for 10 days Palani said:
“We have asked the BCCI for an advance to host the Aussies for more than 10 days. The police security will cost more this time since the teams will be staying in two different HOTELS, Crowne Plaza and Taj Coromandel.”