The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has requested Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis to renew its Wankhede Stadium lease, along with extensions for three other iconic cricket hubs – Azad Maidan, Cross Maidan and Oval Maidan.
At the same time, MCA has requested Fadnavis if they can reclaim their respective plots at Azad Maidan for cricketing activities.
It’s been more than nine years since the Maharashtra government had taken over more than fifty percent of Azad Maidan area to build an underground metro station.
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Before construction, the grounds used to cater to 22 games at a time. However, the capacity got reduced to nearly half, once the metro project started eight years ago. It hampered various clubs – some of who are more than 100 years old.
“There are clubs in the maidaan which have a rich history. They are more than 100 years old and it has been a nursery to many Indian cricketers. We want those grounds so that more matches can be held in the city,” MCA president Ajinkya Naik said.
Fort Vijay CC which is famous for its vintage heritage because it had seen greats like Vijay Merchant and Vinoo Mankad representing the club has witnessed no cricketing activity on their ground since the land was taken for metro construction. Their plot is now used for holding public rallies.
“Our club has a rich history. We have a pavilion in the name of the late Vijay Merchant. Since the time metro construction work took place, our plot was taken by the government and no cricketing activity has been held here since. The part of the plot instead is used for rallies. We are hoping to get our ground back so that our rich legacy is taken forward and cricketing activities resume after so many years,” Jayant Zaveri, secretary of Fort Vijay said.
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The MCA’s new Apex Council met Fadnavis on Friday morning and they requested the government to renew the lease of Wankhede Stadium. The issue has been pending for the last few years. Fadnavis has assured MCA of expediting these pending issues.
“We met Devendra sir today and there were pending issues which we had requested him to look into. The major ones are renewal of ground lease including Wankhede Stadium. CM has assured us to look into the issue. And he also shared his vision to build a world class international stadium with a capacity of one lakh in the MMR region,” MCA president Ajinkya Naik said.
MCA has also requested the government to allow them to create spectator-friendly mound galleries at the Bandra Kurla Complex Ground to enhance viewing facilities for domestic and women’s cricket. MCA-BKC ground doesn’t have a spectator area and the association has makeshift arrangements for first class cricket.
