Tamil Nadu is to have a new cricket stadium, to come up near
Kancheepuram, known for its silk sarees first, and then, for its seer, second? There
is already the massive Chidambaram Stadium right in the heart of Chennai and
one cannot see the necessity for another, unless the incentive is that it will
be bigger than the ones in Kolkata and Melbourne. So what if it is?
Unless, there is a problem with the present stadium, as the
ground known as Chepauk is on a lease from the government of Tamil Nadu for a
specific period of time. Also, it is the home of the hoary Madras Cricket Club,
which has been unhappy that its ground has been taken away.
Maybe Chennai and the cricket lovers of Chennai both need
and deserve a new stadium, particularly one with a retractable roof, as so many
international matches have been washed out in the past. But this has happened
because of the wrong timing of such matches, which have invariably clashed with
the monsoon. Hence, the present president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket
Association, N. Srinivasan, has decided that enough is enough and is determined
to provide a new one.
Cricket fans must be wondering what it would cost in terms
of time and money to travel to and from the new stadium, once it comes up. But
then fans do not matter these days, as there is money to be made from
sponsorships, though an empty stadium can be an embarrassment. There is,
however, a way of filling such a stadium and that is by getting local residents
to watch and by paying them to do so. It would be the equivalent of what
political parties do, to get their supporters to be present. Bring them all by
trucks and pay and feed them.
It is the example of the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai that
comes to mind. Once it was replaced by the Wankhede Stadium, the former lost
its premier position as the cricket centre of the city. And, more often than
not, it is lying unused. Would that be the fate of the Chidambaram Stadium? Crores
of rupees are to be spent to make a dream a reality and when the new stadium comes
up, who is it to be named after?
That is a tricky one. Would it be named after Tamil Nadu’s
chief minister, M. Karunanidhi, whose government has allotted the land, or
after the president of the TNCA? It is fair enough for one to want his name
mentioned as long as cricket is played in the city.