‘Stadium handed over based on handover, takeover documents’

The Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium (JNIS) was probably handed over to a private sponsor for renovation without a formal agreement, but rather through a set of tripartite ‘handover’ and ‘takeover’ documents, it has emerged.

This comes close on the heels of an admission, though not in so many words, by Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman while speaking to reporters on Monday (November 3). He acknowledged the absence of a formal agreement due to the limited time available to prepare the stadium for the international friendly match featuring the Argentina national team led by Lionel Messi, originally scheduled for November 17 but now stands cancelled.

Initially, it was believed that two separate agreements had been signed — one between the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), the owner of the stadium, and the Sports Kerala Foundation (SKF), a non-profit company under the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, and another between SKF and Reporter Broadcasting Corporation (RBC), which claimed to be the match sponsor. SKF was appointed as the special purpose vehicle to prepare the infrastructure for the match.

“The GCDA handed over the stadium to SKF, and SKF to RBC, based on two sets of ‘handover’ and ‘takeover’ documents. These documents contained clauses similar to those in a formal agreement and were signed by all three parties. Given the short timeline for preparations, executing a formal agreement would have taken time, as it required vetting by the Law department. A formal agreement is now being drafted, though,” sources said.

In fact, a statement issued by the GCDA on October 27, following the controversy over the alleged unauthorised handover of the stadium to a private sponsor, clarified that the executive council of the GCDA had met on September 25. During the meeting, the council had discussed the relevant government order and letters from the offices of the Sports Minister and the Director of Sports and Youth Affairs, based on which the decision to hand over the stadium and take necessary action was made.

According to the statement, the stadium was handed over by the GCDA to SKF on an “as is where is” basis, and subsequently to RBC for the period between September 26 and November 30. GCDA Chairman K. Chandran Pillai has since stated that the sponsor has assured that the stadium will be returned by November 30, ahead of potential Indian Super League (ISL) matches expected in December. The stadium serves as the home ground for the ISL team Kerala Blasters.