After stampede, clamour grows for bigger cricket venue in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: The stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium last week, which resulted in 11 deaths, has highlighted the need for Bengaluru to have a larger venue for cricket like never before.
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The existing 35,000-40,000 seater is by no means big enough for a city of 1.5 crore, particularly given the limited parking facility at the venue. Cricket enthusiasts have for long been clamouring for a stadium that can hold around 1 lakh spectators, complete with adequate parking and public transport connectivity. The devastating stampede has only intensified that demand.
Chinnaswamy Stadium was built in 1970 when the city's population was 16 lakh.
Since then, Bengaluru has expanded exponentially. The growing popularity of IPL over the past 18 years has only compounded the challenge for the city, with its cricket stadium falling woefully short of requirements — both in terms of capacity and infrastructure.
Despite govt land allocations, there has been no real progress towards building a new stadium. The recent laying of the foundation stone for an international cricket stadium near Tumakuru is the closest that Karnataka could get towards having a new home for cricket in many years.
Govt sources said Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) had land allocated to it in Kolar, Chikkamagaluru, Mangaluru, Udupi and Puttur.
However, these sites remain largely undeveloped, save for boundary walls.
Similar situations exist in Ballari and Davanagere.
While allocating 41 acres near Tumakuru for a new cricket stadium, chief minister Siddaramaiah had promised additional govt land through KIADB in Mysuru.
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Yet, apart from the Tumakuru project, there hasn't been any progress worth the mention at any other location.
Even the Tumakuru project is unlikely to address cricket enthusiasts' needs, given that it is located 91 km from Bengaluru – literally a far cry from the fans' demand to have a stadium within city limits. This despite KSCA having viable options nearer to the city. A case in point is the new National Cricket Academy campus near Kempegowda International Airport, which can potentially house an 85-yard field with triple the seating capacity of Chinnaswamy.
There have also been suggestions that KSCA take charge of the International Sports Complex planned by BDA in the upcoming Shivarama Karanth Layout. The site comprises two 40-acre land parcels adjacent to the planned Peripheral Ring Road in Byalakere, suitable for a world-class stadium.
As the wait for a new stadium in or around Bengaluru gets painfully longer, cricket lovers in the state can only hope that a tragedy like the one on Wednesday is a one-off.
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