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The Arun Jaitley Stadium will undergo a major renovation, worth Rs 20 to 25 crore, for the five matches it will host during the ODI World Cup in October and November.
The venue, which hosted the second Test between India and Australia earlier this year, had faced criticism for not ensuring basic hygiene in the stadium premises, particularly in the washrooms.
In April, it was revealed that Delhi was among five venues in the country that needed a major revamp, following a gap assessment from the Board of Cricket of India (BCCI). A gap assessment identifies current gaps between the current and ideal future state of the organization.
The others are Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Mohali, which do not appear among the 10 selected World Cup venues on Tuesday.
The game’s popularity in India has skyrocketed in the past ten years with BCCI making billions in broadcast rights. However, fans are often neglected as most stadiums in India lack basic facilities.
Rajan Manchanda, joint secretary of Delhi and the Cricket Association, said their focus will be on making the fans’ experience enjoyable during the World Cup.
“We thank BCCI for giving us five matches. We need to improve the stadium infrastructure to make it an enjoyable experience for fans and we will focus on that ahead of the huge event.
“We have planned a major modernization in the facilities which will include changing of spectator seats, renovation of washrooms, painting works and change in our ticketing programme,” Manchanda told PTI.
The Arun Jaitley Stadium has a capacity of around 35,000 seats, and Manchanda has informed that DDCA will replace around 10,000 seats along with changing the 15-year-old turnstiles to enter the stadium.
“We need to provide clean bathrooms, healthy food and water at a reasonable price for our fans. The strength of the housekeeping staff will also be increased. We plan to complete all the work by September 15,” Manchanda added.
He also informed that the BCCI and International Cricket Council teams would conduct a survey of the venue, which would also include the pitch and pitch, in the third week of July.
Although the weather is not severe in October and November, fans will have to sit in the sun because a major design flaw does not allow the DDCA to cover open stands with a roof.
For the place to have a roof, the existing structure had to be demolished and built from scratch.
Delhi will host its opening match involving South Africa and the qualifiers on October 7. It will host its biggest match on October 11 when India takes on Afghanistan. Afghanistan will also take on the great England team here on October 14th.
The other two league matches will be played on October 25 and November 6.
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