LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has commenced the demolition of its main secretariat building at the Gaddafi Stadium here as part of extensive renovations to meet the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) requirements for hosting next year’s ICC Champions Trophy, tentatively scheduled for February to March.

Similar construction activities are planned for the Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi, and the National Bank Stadium in Karachi and PCB executives have already relocated their offices to the National Cricket Academy.

In addition to the secretariat, the seating capacity of the Imran Khan and Fazal Mahmood Enclosures will be increased by approximately 2,000 seats each.

The recently renovated office of PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, along with 12 other executive rooms, will also be demolished.

Last year, both pavilions of the Gaddafi Stadium underwent renovation despite the PCB having already agreed with the ICC to provide hospitality boxes. Consequently, the expenditure on these renovations, amounting to millions, will now be rendered futile.

According to details obtained by Dawn, the PCB has agreed to provide 20 hospitality boxes in each of the three aforementioned stadiums.

The board has enlisted the services of a UK-based architectural firm, renowned for designing Old Trafford and other stadiums. However, the construction will be carried out by a Pakistani company following the designs prepared by the foreign firm.

It is noteworthy that the secretariat and some hospitality boxes were initially constructed in 1995 for the 1996 ICC World Cup, which saw its final match played between Sri Lanka and Australia at this venue.

The stadium also received its first floodlights for that event, which are now being replaced with new ones.

The PCB faces a race against time to complete the renovations of the three stadiums. Addit­ionally, the board plans to host New Zealand for some ODI matches in January-February, before the start of the Champions Trophy.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2024