Coronavirus: KSCA likely to suffer financial losses after IPL postponement
The suspension of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to the coronavirus pandemic is set to hit the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) hard.
Published : Apr 17, 2020 22:16 IST
The suspension of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to the coronavirus pandemic is set to hit the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) hard. The KSCA, which hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here, could lose a major chunk of their earnings if the IPL is not held this year.
KSCA Hon. Treasurer Vinay Mruthyunjaya stated that the association will be “very, very badly” by the postponement. “We generally receive a broadcast-related revenue (distributed by the BCCI to State associations) of ₹20-25 crore per IPL season. This is the biggest earner. Apart from this, we get ₹7 crore as stadium rent. With the IPL now suspended, this revenue is down to zero. There are other business and trade elements associated with the IPL too which have been affected. Overall, there is no doubt that the KSCA will be affected very, very badly,” Mruthyunjaya told Sportstar on Friday.
The KSCA banks on the revenue generated by the IPL to conduct its cricket activities in the State. The KSCA could be forced to scale back on its operations to manage this loss. “There are certain expenses that simply must be met. For example, employee salary wages, umpire and scorer fees, ground maintenance costs and so on are fixed costs. The KSCA also rents grounds to conduct certain matches. This is also a fixed cost. To compensate, we may have to cut back on aspects like scale and duration of tournaments that we conduct,” Mruthyunjaya said.
The budget has to be reworked, Mruthyunjaya stated, adding that the KSCA plans to hold a meeting to discuss the matter. “But we don’t know when we will be able to hold the meeting. We are all on lockdown now, so we have to wait for things to normalise first,” Mruthyunjaya said.