Come October and Wankhede Stadium, India's second largest cricket ground,
will undergo massive renovation.
Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) will demolish a few of the stands of the Wankhede
Stadium and remodel it to host the finals of the 2011 World Cup, slated to be
held in the sub-continent.
Eden Gardens of Kolkata is generally regarded as the biggest
cricket stadium in the country.
Most of the northern and western stands of the stadium will
be demolished as MCA decided to improve the drainage of the ground, increase
its capacity as well as cater to modern requirements by building air-conditioned
corporate stands.
There is also this need to expand the entrance of the stadium. The main entrance
is narrow and with most of the crowd using the same one for entry and exit,
it is potentially hazardous and could cause, authorities fear, a stampede on
a bad day.
The north and west stands, named after Sachin Tendulkar and Vijay Merchant,
will temporarily lose their iconic images and be remodelled in
a year's time.
S Kapadia, managing director of the B E Billimoria and Co.,
which built the stadium in 1975, refuted speculation that the reconstruction
has been forced upon the custodians because of the unsafe nature of the stadium.
"That's not true. The reconstruction would essentially
imply that the stadium needs to expand and be better managed. The present construction
is good enough to last 100 more years," said Mr Kapadia.
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