The last time Pune hosted an ODI World Cup fixture, way back in 1996, the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Gahunje was not even built. The group league outing between the West Indies and Kenya — which the latter won by 73 runs — was played at the Nehru Stadium.
But 27 years later as the city gears up to host five World Cup 2023 fixtures — including an India vs Bangladesh game — the excitement is in the air. The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, located about 30 kilometres away from the city centre, has undergone a face-lift for the first time since its inauguration in April 2012.
The State association recently organised a World Cup trophy tour, where fans gathered in large numbers, chanting slogans like, ‘ Jeetega Bhai Jeetega, India Jeetega,’ and ‘Vande Mataram’.
Under the leadership of MCA president Rohit Pawar, a new sunroof is being installed in the stadium to ensure a smooth experience for the fans. If you are planning to watch a game here, here’s all you need to know…
Capacity: The stadium has a capacity of 42,653, but to accommodate sight-screens on both ends and extend the dressing room arena keeping the international protocols in mind, some seats remain out of bounds.
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
According to Maharashtra Cricket Association officials, more than 36,000 tickets have gone up for sale on BookMyShow. The association has partnered with the ticketing agency and plans to set up multiple kiosks in the stadium premises and in some parts of the city leading up to the tournament where spectators can collect the physical tickets.
The hospitality boxes: There are 32 corporate hospitality boxes with a seating capacity of 12 each. “There are exclusive washrooms in each of those hospitality boxes. There are designated dining areas and lounges to ensure absolute comfort of the guests and dignitaries,” says Ajinkya Joshi, the COO of the Maharashtra Cricket Association. Apart from the hospitality boxes, some of which are owned by noted corporate groups of the city, the plush president’s box can accommodate 54 spectators.
Practice facilities: Four strips on both ends of the square have been earmarked for training and nets sessions. Apart from that, there is an indoor facility inside the stadium premises where the teams can train, if they wish to. A separate state-of-the-art gymnasium is located on the ground floor of the stadium, adjacent to the dressing rooms.
Pitches: In total, there are 11 wickets, of which four will be used for the World Cup on a rotation basis. The pitch is made up of black soil — unlike the stadiums in Mumbai — and the boundary is shorter. Even though the venue has hosted several IPL and T20Is over the years, it hasn’t hosted an ODI since March 2021, but going by the previous records, the curators indicate that it will be a traditional Gahunje wicket, where batters could have the edge.
In 2021, when India played three ODIs against England in Pune, all the matches were high-scoring affairs, with the teams crossing the 300-mark. According to the MCA officials, some of the areas were given a bit of ‘fine-tuning’ after the Maharashtra Premier League got over a couple of months ago.
There are two dressing rooms — one for the home team and another for the away team. On the first floor, there are two spacious viewing galleries from where the players can watch the proceedings. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
Drainage and outfield: The stadium has a sand-based outfield. A layer of gravel, blinding layers of washed grit and sand with the root zone layer of silica sand, zeolite and cocopeat have been deployed to make the drainage system as efficient as possible.
The stadium has a hover cover, which is used to cover the square. “With an improved drainage system, matches can resume quickly even if it rains,” says an MCA official.
On match days, the association deputes 20 groundsmen to get the ground ready and the same will continue for the World Cup as well.
Entry points: There are four gates — of which Gate No. 2 is restricted to the players and the dignitaries. The stadium is located on the Mumbai-Pune Highway and reaching here could be a challenge as there are not many options in terms of public transport. The Maharashtra Cricket Association has decided to repair the access roads — which are quite narrow — leading to the stadium before the tournament, so that those coming in their own vehicles won’t face any challenges.
To avoid any traffic congestion outside the stadium, about 20 acres of land has been rented from villagers to supplement its own parking space. “Once the rains are over, we will work on war-footing to repair the service roads to avoid any inconvenience to visitors,” Joshi says, adding: “We have tied up with a professional agency that will help us with parking. Those who have valid tickets can use this parking space.”
Accessibility and challenges: From the entrance to the stands is a long walk. And when India squares off against Bangladesh on October 19, things could get challenging for the fans to find their way to the respective blocks and zones amid tight security.
But MCA seems to have found a way to address the issue. While there will be signages put up in each and every corner of the stadium, volunteers will be deputed to make sure the fans are guided to their respective blocks.
In the South-East block, a particular area has been earmarked for the differently-abled. “There will be about 15-20 seats that will be kept exclusively for the differently-abled, and that block will have a ramp so that they don’t have any problem in reaching their seats,” says apex council member Sunil Mutha, adding: “We also have wheelchair services for the fans…”
There is an indoor facility inside the stadium premises where the teams can train, if they wish to. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
In case of emergency: There’s round-the-clock ambulance service in the stadium premises. During the tournament, medical kiosks will be set up across the stadium for spectators.
The MCA is set to tie up with a local hospital for on-ground medical services. “The doctors will be available throughout the matches and we will have quite a few super-speciality ambulances,” the MCA COO says.
Dressing rooms: There are two dressing rooms — one for the home team and another for the away team. On the first floor, there are two spacious viewing galleries from where the players can watch the proceedings.
There are toilets in each of the dressing rooms — along with a shower room. The state-of-the-art gymnasium is located on the ground floor and can be accessed by both teams.
Washrooms: There are 76 washrooms in the stadiums — of which 32 are in hospitality boxes. On the ground floor, there are 16 toilets — for men and women — while that on Level One is four. The second and third levels have six and 10 washrooms each.
There are six washrooms in the player arena, while the other two are in the Old Broadcast arena.
Water: There are water stations on all the ten blocks that would provide RO water to the spectator.
The BCCI also plans to tie up with the official ‘pouring partner’ of the tournament to provide free drinking water for all the spectators.
Solar panels and LEDs: Though the stadium hasn’t installed solar panels yet, it uses LED floodlights in the stadium premises. “There are four floodlight poles with each having 142 LED lights,” says an official.
The stadium has a hover cover, which is used to cover the square. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
What’s new: Earlier, most parts of the stadium did not have a sunroof. But ahead of the mega event, MCA president Pawar has taken the initiative of putting up new sunroofs in the East-West and the diagonally opposite blocks. “The president has taken this initiative to make sure that the fans have a smooth experience, and it’s because of his efforts that we have started the work on a war-footing,” says Joshi.
The MCA officials are confident that the sunroofs will be installed by the first week of October.
To accommodate journalists from across the globe, the association has expanded the media centre and now it can accommodate around 150 people.
Areas that need attention
# Since the stadium is quite far from the city, there are concerns regarding the availability of public transport. Narrow service roads and parking issues make it equally challenging for fans to book rides from the stadium on match days.
#As the World Cup returns to the city after more than two-and-a-half decade, the fans are excited to attend the games in large numbers, so keeping that in mind, it needs to be seen whether the MCA partners with the local authorities to arrange some local transport or introduce shuttle services to ply the spectators.
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