Three empty stands of Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium can be reopened
The three stands of Chepauk Stadium, I, J and K have not been in use since 2011, right after the stadium was renovated for the legal tussle.
The Madras Cricket Club (MCC) has taken a unanimous decision to reopen the three empty stands (I, J and K) at the Chepauk Stadium, also known as the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. The decision was reached during a general meeting on Wednesday.
According to a report on Sportstar, the MCC has agreed for the demolition of its gym to create eight metres of setback space between it and the K-stand as ordered by the Supreme Court in 2015.
“The meeting lasted an hour and went off smoothly. Certain other items too were on the agenda. Now we will apply to the corporation and the CMDA for permission to carry out the demolition and we are sure we will be granted that since the gym is not a part of any heritage structure,” MCC President R Ramesh was quoted as saying on the report.
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“We expect the gym will be demolished sometime in February so that the three stands can be reopened for the IPL. Chennai should not, anymore, be denied international matches and the IPL final because these three stands remained closed,” he added.
The Chepauk Stadium had been the subject of a legal battle for some time which led to three gallery stands to be unused for the last eight years.
After the Tamil Nadu government renewed the lease of the stadium to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) and the MCC there were reports that a decision could be reached regarding the opening of the unused stands.
The former TNCA, International Cricket Council (ICC), Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief N Srinivasan had also met Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami to solve the issue.
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