Unruly fans damage imported chairs at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium within a week of its first IPL game, leaving Maharashtra Cricket Association to bear a loss of Rs 3,80,000
The Maharashtra Cricket Association’s (MCA) Subrata Roy Sahara cricket stadium near Mumbai-Pune Expressway is already the most expensive cricket stadium in the country, at Rs 300 crore.
Picture for representation.u00a0Pic/Getty Images
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And within a week since it held its first big game — Pune Warriors India vs Kings XI Punjab on April 8, the cost has just gone up, thanks to some unruly and wild behaviour by the crowd.
Nearly 200 chairs, all imported from Australia, were broken by spectators, who chose to stand and even, dance on them at times. “Such conduct is really painful for an association to bear. The stadium has been built after efforts of several years and we treat this stadium as our child,” MCA president Ajay Shirke told MiD DAY.
The chairs, specifically made to make sitting very comfortable, have an upward inclination, which broke due to the unruly crowd. During the testing of the chairs, the company had assured the MCA that they would be unbreakable even if it were smashed repeatedly by a hammer.
“The renowned Australian company had done a lot of scientific research before making these chairs. However, our people have shown their ability to challenge any scientific research,” remarked an MCA official, who didn’t want to be named. “Fortunately, we had spare chairs with us, so we could replace them before our next home game,” the official added.
With each chair costing
Rs 1,900, the damage itself has cost MCA Rs 3,80,000. Add to that, a couple of commode chairs broken in the public toilet and an ‘accidental’ damage to the dressing room door (worth Rs 4,50,000) by Kings XI Punjab batsman Paul Valthaty.u00a0“It’s our sincere request to the public to treat this stadium as their home, and handle this asset with a lot of love and care,” Shirke said.u00a0
With Pune Warriors India and Chennai Super Kings preparing for their battle here today, MCA officials are busy planning for Sunday morning, praying that the damage is, at least, kept to a minimum.
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