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ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to build an international cricket stadium and an academy in Islamabad.
PCB, on Monday, was allotted 35 acres of land by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for the establishment of a stadium in the Shakarparian area of the capital, a press release said.
Both bodies signed a memorandum of understanding, in the presence of PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf, CDA Chairman Farkhand Iqbal and Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Task Force for Islamabad Faisal Sakhi Butt.
“The international cricket stadium will be an added feature in the capital’s modern development,” Butt said.
The stadium and the academy will be geared towards providing better training facilities to the locals.
“This region has a great talent for cricket and by establishing an academy, we will aim to nurture and polish that talent,” Ashraf told reporters.
Ashraf vowed to make the stadium central to the training and grooming of cricketers from not only Islamabad, but adjoining regions such as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the agreement, CDA will receive a revenue share of 30 per cent from every national and international match, while the remaining 70 per cent will go to the PCB.
Currently, there are no PCB-owned cricket stadiums or academies in the capital. The Diamond Club Ground is used by the regional team (Federal Areas) during domestic tournaments. Rawalpindi, however, is home to the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, which has hosted eight Test matches and 23 one-day internationals.
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Comments (26) Closed
May 07, 2012 07:00pm
Why a stadium in islamabad when both PCB and CDA are in dire need of cash. We already have a stadium in pindi and that still can be used for both pindi and islamabad.
Instead of building a stadium in islamabad, i guess its better if PCB spend that money in building cricket grounds and smaller stadiums in smaller towns of balochistan, sindh, punjab, KP & AJK.
Again there will b arguments in favor of a stadium in islamabad as its the capital and i agree when pakistan will become a developed country then we can have international stadium in isb but at the moment we need to groom our next generation and i think best use of this money is to develop ground and smaller stadiums
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May 07, 2012 11:32pm
We hav Rawalpindi stadium. Don't u cut a single tree!
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May 08, 2012 03:27am
Amidst news of so much destruction , a news on construction provides much releif
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May 07, 2012 08:02pm
Parvez
First thing first get some other country team comes and plays safely, then invest money into state of art stadium.
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May 07, 2012 07:10pm
Why waste so much money. Which International team is going to come visit? This money should be spent elsewhere.
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May 08, 2012 02:05pm
We need schools and hospitals, not stadiums that are not even necessary. The idea is to embezzle money during the construction. As for the area it wont be calm and quiet anymore, there is already a stadium there.
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May 07, 2012 09:31pm
This will help to promote soft image of Pakistan.
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May 07, 2012 08:28pm
And I bet it will be named Benazir Bhutto Stadium. What's wrong with the stadium in Rawalpindi? It's only 20km away. Just open the academy there.
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May 08, 2012 11:27am
i think ,By bulding new stadium you creates job, also this stadium make country feel proud.
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May 07, 2012 08:47pm
Whats the point building so close to Rawalpindi Stadium, less than 10 miles apart ?
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May 07, 2012 06:17pm
i Think This stadium should be the biggest and state of the art stadium of Pakistan.
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May 08, 2012 09:10am
Sheer waste of taxpayer's money by inept and unelected people!
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May 08, 2012 01:17am
maybe spend the money to improve security so international teams visit Pakistan? wont that make more sense?
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May 08, 2012 02:06am
This will be beneficial for the regional cricket. One Thing I may say that they should get grass from Canada as this grass does not die even in snow.
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May 08, 2012 02:22am
I suggest to build a stadium in Gwadar Port and secure it. International teams can fly into Gwadar or land by ship and leave from Gwadar. People should enter from one main entrance that should be guarded and have tight security at the entrance. This will be the safest place to play Test and other matches. It will be easy to secure new place than securing crowded city. I may be wrong. Please comment for my curiosity. Please give your ideas and suggestions to keep the cricket alive in Pakistan.
Thanks,
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May 08, 2012 04:07am
Such steps are mere cosmetic measures to the real issues: worsening law and order situation in the country and lost trust of International teams in us as a safe and secure place to play cricket. Further, in the name of nurturing and polishing local talent, many pockets in CDA and PCB will sink deeper with the weight of dollars.
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May 08, 2012 11:56am
great Idea it would attract international cricket and would portray a better image of our country...moreover the area selected is peaceful and away from the city thus there would no traffic issues as well.
The only point to ponder upon is that trees should not be cut and if it is mandatory 4 should be planted against every single tree cut.
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May 08, 2012 05:47am
This country has so many other issues such as rampant crime, poverty, illiteracy, drug abuse to name a few and how do we confront and solve these issues - build state of the art cricket stadiums so the elite class can squander the tax money of the public in pursuits of idle fancies.
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May 08, 2012 05:51am
Keep wasting money on new stadiums while existing ones lie vacant.
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May 08, 2012 12:17pm
PCB have to invest money for betterment of cricket which includes building of grounds,infrastructure, players affairs etc.Security problem is upto Govt.of pakistan.Negative minded people should learn this thing.
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May 08, 2012 05:59am
Guys this is a strategy of PCB chairman. Building a modern stadium will be an art in itself. But the actual purpose is something else. Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan,anyone from outside who visits Pakistan mostly arrives at Islamabad or Lahore. But mainly Islamabad.. Its consider the safest place is Pakistan, becz all foreign delegates from each country are in isl and the all the government authorites are in isl. By doing this PCB will convince teams to tour Pakistan as all the facts mentioned above.
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May 08, 2012 06:07am
it is totally wastage of nation money.. i ask question to mr zaka....current cricket staduim are not enough for playing cricket.?wyh you waste money in this type of unnecessary work..mr zaka first you give security to forign team.then you you make international staduim..
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May 08, 2012 07:37am
The same money could be used for employment generation and improving infrastructure. The security situation in Pakistan makes this a poor investment that will yield a demanding elephant in the future.
Soren
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May 08, 2012 08:00am
it's a nice development but they should take serious steps against security threats for other teams.
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May 08, 2012 08:33am
Bash this stadium will be adjacent to or part of Islamabad sports complex and is very near to red zone, so security will not be an issue at all, i think this is an excellent approach.
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May 09, 2012 06:18am
It is good to have a new stadium in Islamabad but there are other pressing issues which are being neglected by the government they should be resolved first, law and order, restoring the dignity of citizens, showing respect to courts and should start honoring its judgments and to root out corruption from the ruling class and government functionaries. There is no need for new stadium at this point, does any body know when will international teams start visiting Pakistan.
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