BCCI postpone IPL opening ceremony

BCCI was planning to host a grand opening ceremony before the first match. According to the Indian Express, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) has asked decided to thwart the plans. The governing council had set a budget of 50 crores for the event to be held on April 6, a day before the first match of the season.

CoA does not want the crowd to pay gate fees

CoA has rejected this proposal from the BCCI and asked them to reduce the budget to 30 crores. They have also asked the governing council to host the event on the day of the opening game. According to the reports, CoA has recommended this to save the fans from paying extra gate fees for the opening ceremony.

A top official clarified that CoA has not said no yet and the final decision will be taken after the governing council meeting. “Last season, because it was the 10th edition, the IPL had opening ceremonies in all eight centers. This time, we planned only a grand one, featuring a leading pop star. Though CoA has not said no, it has asked us to reduce the budget and host it at Wankhede on April 7,” the official said, as quoted by the newspaper report.

BCCI wants to attract more audience for the ceremony

In the 10th season of the IPL, eight separate opening ceremonies were held before the first home match of each franchise. A governing council member argued that hosting opening ceremony separately attracts more audience and it gives BCCI opportunity to monetize the event.

“We thought of hosting a gala event with a concert. In the past, we have seen that if it happens at the ground, there is no connect with fans. If held elsewhere, we thought we could attract more audience. That was the idea behind having a separate event,” a governing council member said.