IPL Final Relocation: Why Bengaluru Lost Its Chance to Host the Grand Finale

IPL Final Moves from Bengaluru Due to Ticket Demand

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Cricket Association's (KSCA) appeal for an extra 10,057 complimentary tickets has resulted in the relocation of the IPL final and playoff matches from the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, according to a source from the BCCI.

Traditionally, Bengaluru was set to host the final since the Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the reigning champions.

However, IPL chairman Arun Dhumal stated that the situation became 'untenable' for holding the finale at this venue due to the overwhelming demand for complimentary tickets, given its limited capacity of 35,000 spectators.

This season's playoff matches are now scheduled to take place in Dharamsala on May 26, New Chandigarh on May 27 and 29, while the championship match will occur at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 31.

The KSCA is entitled to complimentary tickets amounting to 15% of the stadium's capacity, but they requested an additional 10,057 tickets, as revealed by the source.

Among these, approximately 900 passes were needed to satisfy the requests from state legislature members alone.

The KSCA agreed to provide three complimentary passes each to MLAs and MLCs, totaling around 900 passes.

Moreover, the Expert Committee and additional commitments with the Government of Karnataka necessitated an extra 750 complimentary tickets, along with a limited number of hospitality passes beyond the standard allocation.

This situation would have left only about 20,000 tickets available for the general public.

The source also indicated that the association sought a batch of paid tickets at a discounted rate.

This included 3,007 tickets in the P3 stand priced at Rs 2,000 for cricket clubs and 900 tickets in the Members' Stand for the families of members.

Additionally, the association aimed to acquire 1,000 tickets in the M4 stand at an average cost of Rs 2,000 and 3,500 tickets across various stands for life members.

These numbers corroborated Dhumal's earlier comments.

He noted that the Chinnaswamy Stadium's capacity is limited, and very few tickets were available even for league matches. Given that the IPL final draws fans from around the globe, a larger ticket inventory is essential.