Going big ticket? UT seeks police inputs on Sec 16 stadium

[email protected]Chandigarh: The UT sports department has written to the SSP (Law and Order) and SSP (Traffic and Security), asking for their views on the feasibility of organising IPL or international cricket matches in the Sector 16 cricket stadium.

The move assumes significance in view of the fact that the lone cricket stadium of Chandigarh has not hosted any international cricket matches after 2007. As for IPL, it has never been held here.The Sector 16 cricket stadium needs major infrastructure upgrade to make it ready for international and IPL matches but the sports department intends to seek police inputs on security, law and order and traffic logistics for such events.

The sports department will take a decision on the infrastructural development needed and cost estimate based on the inputs of the police department.Last week’s letter by the sports department to the SSP (law and order) and SSP (traffic and security), a copy of which is with TOI, reads, “With reference to conducting international cricket matches in cricket stadium of Sector 16, it is submitted that the Sports Department of the Chandigarh Administration intends to upgrade the Cricket Stadium, Sector 16, Chandigarh to International Standards so that International and Indian Premier League matches can be conducted here.

It is, therefore, requested that comments regarding law and order and traffic arrangements for hosting International Cricket Matches in Cricket Stadium, Sector 16, be sent to this office, so that a conscious decision may be taken regarding the upgradation of the stadium since it involves a lot of public expenditure.”The UT sports and engineering department upgraded the main ground and pitch of the stadium last year at a cost of around Rs 40 lakh.

However, the cricket stadium still needs major infrastructure development to organise international and IPL level matches.Last year, the engineering department replaced the grass on the main ground and raised the level of the central pitch by giving proper slope to the ground for drainage. New drains with new outlets were also constructed.The UT sports department and engineering wing also consulted with high-level technical experts of BCCI and Mullanpur International Cricket Stadium of Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) before starting the work on the ground.

Teams of BCCI and PCA visited the Sector 16 Cricket Ground last year to inspect the ongoing works and advise accordingly.Imp Box: Decline over the yearsThe sole cricket stadium of the city was constructed in the 70s and was once known for international matches. That changed over the past 18 years, when not a single international match could be heldThe last international cricket match between India and Australia was held here in 2007 while no IPL match has ever been held hereOne of the reasons for the state of affairs was the failure to upgrade existing infrastructure of the stadiumThe stadium has a seating capacity of around 20,000 to 22,000, which has not been increasedA glorious past— The stadium hosted its first ODI in January 1985 between India and England and went on to stage several international matches, including its only Test match between India and Sri Lanka in 1990— The last international fixture at the venue was the India-Australia ODI in Oct 2007, after which international cricket gradually shifted to newer stadiums in the region— Some of Indian cricket’s biggest names, including Kapil Dev, Chetan Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Dinesh Mongia, honed their skills at the Sector 16 stadium— The venue was long regarded as the nursery of Chandigarh cricket and played a key role in producing several international and first-class cricketers from the region— During its peak years, the stadium regularly attracted large crowds and was considered one of the city’s sporting landmarks before newer international venues came up in Mohali and later Mullanpur