Image: Gaddafi Stadium, Younisjunejo, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has struck a $3.6 million deal with the Bank of Punjab to sell it the naming rights of the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for a period of five years.
The Hindustan Times said the PCB is yet to officially announce the deal but insiders said it has been completed.
The deal marks a significant achievement for the PCB’s new management, as it more than doubles the revenue generated from the previous naming rights agreement for National Stadium Karachi, which was sold for $1.7 million for the same duration.
Like the National Stadium in Karachi, the Gaddafi Stadium will now also be named after a bank. The National Stadium is now known as the National Bank Cricket Arena.
The stadium in Lahore was named after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 1974. Gaddafi Stadium previously known as Lahore Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
With a capacity of 27,000, it is the fourth largest cricket stadium of Pakistan. It is the home ground of Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.
PCB’s former chairman and ex captain Ramiz Raja had started the process of selling naming rights of cricket stadiums in the country in 2021 and the Karachi stadium’s deal was completed during his tenure.
The PCB, now headed by interior minister Mohsin Naqvi, wants to manage some of the costs of renovating three main stadiums in the country for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 through such deals.
“Naqvi also wants to increase revenue streams to support domestic cricket which will benefit Pakistan cricket,” the source added.
The PCB plans to sell the naming rights for additional stadiums to sponsors in the future.
Earlier this year, the PCB unveiled plans to upgrade three stadiums in the country in time for the Champions Trophy in 2025.
The PCB has earmarked Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi as venues for next year’s Champions Trophy.
The Champions Trophy, which was last held in England in 2017, is expected to take place in Pakistan in February-March next year.
Parts of the redevelopment work will include creating additional tiers in at least two enclosures at the Gaddafi Stadium, upgrading the hospitality boxes at the Gaddafi and the National Bank stadiums, adding players’ dressing rooms at the National Bank Stadium, and designing new roofs for the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium enclosures.
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