IPL 2017: Gujarat Lions Keen To Play Extra Game In ‘Second’ New Tentative Home Ground
Apr 5, 2019 at 12:39 PM
IPL franchise Gujarat Lions have shown interest to play an extra game at their ‘second’ home ground in Uttar Pradesh at Ekana international stadium, instead of Green Park in Kanpur.
Green Park, which has a capacity of 30,000, hosted Gujarat Lions’ two games last year but there is some construction work going on in the stadium, which might also utilise some space during the game. To deal with the loss that can occur, the franchise is keen to play at Ekana international stadium, which can host a crowd of 40,000 at a given time.
“The Gujarat Lions have requested the board to make changes in the IPL schedule in order to play more home games in UP, as the revenue stream is better in Lucknow than in Rajkot. Even the capacity of the Lucknow stadium is bigger. If the Ekana authorities are able to complete their construction work in time, the matches could be shifted to Lucknow,“ a source told TOI.
As per the IPL schedule, Gujarat Lions will kick off their IPL campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 7. They are set to play two games at their second home on May 10 and 13 against Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.
The 10th edition of IPL kicks off from April 5 with defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal in Hyderabad.