Lahore Qalandars demand a stadium of bigger capacity in Lahore

The 2022 Pakistan Super League champions, Lahore Qalandars, have recently demanded a brand-new stadium in Lahore. The demand was first raised by Atif Rana who is the chief executive of the Qalandars. Rana feels that the Gaddafi Stadium cannot do justice to the fans wanting to watch their team play live and a new stadium with at least a capacity of 80,000 people is the need of the hour.

He thinks that a bigger stadium is important considering the passion and interest of the fans. As per Rana, even though the stadium was jam-packed, there were still a large number of people who could not get into the stadium for the finals of the PSL seven due to its capacity.

“Gaddafi Stadium was not big enough for HBLPSL 7. In the final match, almost the same number of spectators that were present inside the stadium were also present outside. Looking at the passion and interest of the fans having a new bigger stadium is essential,” said Rana as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.

Having a stadium with a capacity of 27,000 people does not do justice: Lahore Qalandars coach Aqib Javed

The need for a bigger stadium was further endorsed by Qalandars’ coach, Aqib Javed, who elaborated further on the matter. Javed while mentioning the population of Lahore being close to 20 million, suggested that a stadium with the capacity to hold 27,000 spectators cannot do justice. He revealed that the franchisee is already working on the said matter.

“Lahore Qalandars is working on this matter, and further progress will be seen in the days to come. Lahore is a highly populated city of 20 million people, having a stadium with a capacity of 27,000 people does not do justice. The fan base of Lahore is not limited to only Lahore it is spread out throughout Pakistan,” said Javed.

The PSL this year was a major success for the Pakistan Cricket Board and Qalandars defeated 2021 champions, Multan Sultans, in the finals to win their maiden title.