PCB takes control of Niaz Stadium for 20 years
“The historic Niaz Cricket Stadium has been handed back to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the second time in less than two decades, with the board promising to turn the ageing venue into an inter…”
The PCB and Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) signed a 20-year MoU on Tuesday, placing the stadium under the board's management for redevelopment, upgrading and professional operation.
The agreement was signed at the stadium by PCB Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmad Syed and Hyderabad Mayor Kashif Ali Shoro, six months after Hyderabad's Kingsmen made their debut in the 11th edition of the PSL.Under the agreement, the PCB will pay just Rs10,000 a month in rent and share 20% of net gate-receipt profits with the HMC.
The board, however, will retain exclusive commercial rights over ticketing, hospitality, advertising, broadcasting and sponsorships. The PCB will also bear the entire cost of development and renovation, including work on the pitch, outfield, floodlights, pavilion, media facilities and spectator stands.
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Despite the fresh takeover, the return of major cricket to Hyderabad remains some distance away. Syed said the PCB would try to bring PSL matches to Niaz Stadium by 2030, but only after the venue meets International Cricket Council (ICC) standards.
The stadium's existing capacity of around 12,000 spectators will have to be increased to 20,000, while floodlights, and a media gallery will also have to be installed before it can host major international-level events, he said. Syed said the upgraded stadium would help promote domestic cricket in the region.
He also announced plans to establish a regional cricket academy at the venue in January or February next year, with trials planned for Under-16, Under-17 and Under-19 players. Mayor Shoro said the provincial government and HMC had undertaken renovation work at the stadium in recent years in response to public demand for its restoration.
"Citizens also want to see PSL matches at Niaz Stadium at the earliest," he said. Built in 1961, Niaz Stadium was named after the then commissioner of Hyderabad. It hosted its last One-Day International on January 24, 2008, when Pakistan played Zimbabwe.
This is not the first time the PCB has been given control of the venue. In 2007, then Hyderabad Mayor Kunwar Naveed Jamil had handed over the stadium to the board with similar objectives. However, after no significant upgrade was carried out, the Municipal Committee Qasimabad took the facility back from the PCB.
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