$50M Being Wasted on a Stadium in Islamabad by the PCB

Saj

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Ehsan Mani didn't hold back in the interview with PakPassion when he spoke about some of the current PCB administration's decisions.

This is what he interestingly said about their plans to build a stadium in Islamabad at the cost of $50M

"Talking specifically about the current Chairman of the PCB, I think the PCB, because there is no accountability, he works for his own benefits and this happens with every chairman whether it’s Zaka Ashraf, Ijaz Butt or anyone else and without due consideration and understanding for what is really needed in cricket in Pakistan. Let me give you an example of this. There has been talk within Pakistan by the PCB about building a new stadium in Islamabad. They’re talking about an expenditure of about $50 million at a time when there is no international cricket in Pakistan. There is a big stadium in Rawalpindi and the Pindi Stadium is actually between Rawalpindi and Islamabad. It's only about 3 kilometres out of Islamabad. Why do you need a new stadium?

Can you imagine how much of the $50 million could provide to the playing fields in Pakistan for club cricketers? You could change the whole landscape of facilities available for people who want to play the game at a local level, but no they go for these big projects which are virtually another white elephant sitting there. There's absolutely no need for this in the country."

What are everyone's thoughts on this project by the PCB at a time when most domestic cricket is watched by hardly any people and there is no international cricket taking place in Pakistan.
 
I think we really need a marquee, advance cricket stadium because cricket will eventually return one day IA.

I don't see anything wrong with besides its PPP inspired name. I'm excited about it.
 
I wrote this in the interview thread:

And I also agree with him reagarding the talks about new stadium in Islamabad. When you don't have international cricket in your country and at same time your domestic cricket is not good, you better invest in improving the domestic cricket.

And there are so many stadiums in Paksitan already, why not upgrade them instead when international cricket returns.

And if you absolutely want to build a stadium it has to be in a city where you don't have stadium already. Pindi and Islamabad are close to eachother so why have two stadiums there?
 
I'm not entirely happy about it. I think there are other areas where funds are needed more.

It's a waste really. Send the A team on tours, televise domestic cricket, upgrade existing facilities etc etc.
 
If Pindi is 3 km from Islamabad than the stadium is clearly a waste.

I would have supported a stadium in the capital given it is the most secured place inside Pakistan but the distace to Pindi really makes it a no brainer...
 
If Pindi is 3 km from Islamabad than the stadium is clearly a waste.

I would have supported a stadium in the capital given it is the most secured place inside Pakistan but the distace to Pindi really makes it a no brainer...


It will replace the Pindi stadium most probably for international matches.
 
Its going to be a state of the art all seater stadium comparable to ones in Australia ( lesser capacity). Right now the only one comparable is the Multan Cricket Ground and even that has not been used for ages so it is quite possible that it is not in the best of the conditions

The rest esp Karachi are concrete jungles with no aesthethic value whatsoever
 
isn't Islamabad supposed to be the most secure places in the country?-- We can host teams at this ground to return cricket back to Pak and help teams build confidence that this is a safe country so cricket can eventually spread to the rest of the country

Also all our stadiums are old - building a new modern stadium doesn't sound like a bad idea to me
 
It seems like Mani has some loose marbles ( first said Pak India current series will generate $100-150 million ).

In an era where foreign teams are reluctant to come to Pakistan due to security and Islamabad being relatively safer and better security arrangements, better hotel arrangements, slightly better weather, ..does make sense to have new stadium.

I am sure, one of the purpose to make this stadium is to make some extra cash for some PPP members, but still do not see a big deal. Our county needs more stadiums and Pindi stadium is old and going to Pindi from Islamabad is nightmare for security point of view for foreign teams.
 
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Complete waste of money Islamabad has so many cricket grounds with very few cricketers. It really is a shame that next door pinidi has produced talented cricketers but they dont have any good grounds for club cricket..and even the grounds that are there are being taken away by land mafia...

Quality of cricket in islamabad is so poor...Islamabad an pindi federation should be merged so guys from pinidi can play in islamabad.
 
Complete waste of money Islamabad has so many cricket grounds with very few cricketers. It really is a shame that next door pinidi has produced talented cricketers but they dont have any good grounds for club cricket..and even the grounds that are there are being taken away by land mafia...

Quality of cricket in islamabad is so poor...Islamabad an pindi federation should be merged so guys from pinidi can play in islamabad.

The decision to build stadium in Islamabad is not based on the production of cricketers from the soil but it is due to the current security environment and to attract foreign teams to make them feel comfortable to come to Pakistan.
 
completely agree with every word of Mani

Waste of money
 
Let Cricketjoshila come in an lecture all on how vital this stadium is to Pakistan...without ever having stepped foot on Pakistani soil, forget Islamabad and Pindi

When PCB can't 'Afford' tours for the A team, to go from there and spend 50 million on a stadium that will be 3-5 kilometers away from Pindi one...had hoti hai dhatai aur corruption ki bhi
 
i would spend that money on improving the domestic cricket and grass root levels in pakistan
 
pocket lining ********s.

an absolute disgrace.

zaka finally showing his true colours.
 
It's just a proposal.

I wouldn't put too much weight into it before it's actually set in stone. It could have been a random proposal that was made in their meetings.

Ehsan Mani has ripped into Zaka as if the deal is done and the stadium has been built. It's highly unfair on the chairman.

If it was true, it would be a shocker. The 50 million can be diversified into other aspects of our cricket and improve it as a whole. It's a lot of dough to be spent on a stadium.
 
Yea, I would prefer upgrading existing grounds rather than taking the plunge for a new one.

Domestic cricket and facilities need focus as well. PCB must spend wisely in the best interests of improving Pakistan cricket.
 
Hi,
am sure the whole point of this project is that it will have a hotel, helipad and other facilities so countries touring will not need to go outside and therefore a safe environment hence international cricket. If yes then it is not a waste in he long run.
Speculate to accumlate
 
Its a no brainer really. It's not needed. We have enough stadiums. First class cricket, i.e. developing the grassroots, is in greater need of the money.

But all the kick backs they would recieve during construction, and the political mileage generated by inevitably naming it something to do with Benazir Bhutto, will ensure that they build the stadium.
 
A huge waste of money. Anyone who thinks such a project is going to encourage foreign teams to start playing in Pakistan again is dreaming.

If this kind of money is available it's domestic cricket that needs it. In the absence of home games, Pakistan needs to keep producing top players to keep cricket in the public consciousness, and this project will contribute nothing towards that.
 
Its is OK to build a marquee stadium.. as long as other requirements are being fulfilled.

other requirements such as the stadiums we already can be improved 5x from there current state(which is below average)

domestic level facilities can be/should be improved
maintenance of already stadiums is also a huge task which is very underrated in our country.

if lower level necissities are not being taken care of then spending a huge amount on a comlpetely new project is wasteful at this time.
 
You can never fulfill all requirements, instead of complaining about a new stadium, at least appreciate the good work PCB has been doing lately. But people would always try hard to find negatives out of everything.

Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the only proper, planned international standard city. Not having a cricket stadium there was very stupid. I believe the Pindi stadium won't host matches anymore which is great. It doesn't make sense at all to host matches in Pindi when you are just few miles away from a city which is way superior in every department.
 
When you have a domestic structure that is struggling, with low standards and interest, why would you not build on that rather than a new stadium in Islamabad? What do we need that stadium for? You have a country full of cricket loving people, with lots of immense talent that gets buried under a poor domestic structure, and you are worrying about stadiums.

Invest in the domestic circuit, improve outfields, stadiums, training sessions, domestic incentives. Our players should be ready for the international scene as soon as they come out of the circuit. Talent in the rural areas, and the poorer areas of urban centers should be better funneled. The league should exist within multiple levels, rather than trying to get into the single corporate league. And 50 million can go a long way into improving that. That stadium's budget can in fact come naturally from just building that centre alone. This is because there will be better cricket, more fans and thus more revenue.

Look at what's important PCB!
 
While saying that though, this administration is definitely better than the previous one and has done plenty of good work. Zaka Ashraf has been miles better than Ijaz Butt, although to be honest that doesn't say much. There are benefits of having an Islamabad stadium but it shouldn't be a priority at this point.
 
Our county needs more stadiums and Pindi stadium is old and going to Pindi from Islamabad is nightmare for security point of view for foreign teams.

Why does it need more stadiums when the current ones are empty and there is no international cricket happening in Pakistan?
 
Islamabad's supposed to be one of the more secure locations in Pakistan, if this results in the return of international cricket back to Pakistan, it would be worth every penny. Think about the millions you're missing out on because of lack of international cricket at home. Pakistan has been among the top 3 cricketing nations with worse domestic set-up than currently, it's not a big deal to be honest. Javed Miandad and Inzamam like gems haven't come out of top class cricket academies or world's greatest domestic competition.
 
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Why does it need more stadiums when the current ones are empty and there is no international cricket happening in Pakistan?


First of all the current ones are not empty, as we have seen both the Karachi and Lahore stadiums during meaningless matches against the old retired cricketers, people came and all the seats were filled.

You as a foreigner ask yourself, if you would have a choice to go visit Pakistan, would you go to play matches in Pindi or Islamabad? As we know, Islamabad is relatively safer and arranging the matches there for security point of view is easier and safer compare to Pindi.

If the argument is money being wasted, do people really think that money would have been invest in the right places in the first place? The more cricket stadium we have is better for the game, plus country need one state of the art stadium, which we are missing at the moment.
 
First of all the current ones are not empty, as we have seen both the Karachi and Lahore stadiums during meaningless matches against the old retired cricketers, people came and all the seats were filled.
Zaid that was for matches that attracted foreign players. I'm talking about domestic matches where 10 people attend 4 day matches.

If the argument is money being wasted, do people really think that money would have been invest in the right places in the first place? The more cricket stadium we have is better for the game

Again, why have these stadium though when there is no international cricket happening and NONE of the MAJOR cricketing nations agreeing to tour Pakistan. Surely the best thing to do would be to get international cricket back to Pakistan, then start thinking about building white elephant stadia and splashing $50M that could be used on much more important matters in Pakistani cricketing circles.
 
Zaid that was for matches that attracted foreign players. I'm talking about domestic matches where 10 people attend 4 day matches.

Domestic matches in subcontinent are not big attraction, even in India, during the test matches, the stadiums are empty.

My argument is pure based on security point of view, Islamabad is relatively safer and can attract foreign teams. I would rather have teams playing in Islamabad by investing $50 million than team playing in Dubai or Middle East.

Country need state of the art cricket stadium, all the other cricket stadiums are run down and in the middle of the cities, they need to be in better locations in current environment of the security, which is not getting better for at least 4-5 years.

The argument for the money being wasted, that money will not go to poor people's pocket, so I am not worried.
 
I wish we had county cricket good competitive cricket and drinking beer with beer bellies playing lady gaga when a catch is taken. But in seriousness its a good move to make this stadium likeZAID said there are NO international cricket matches happening in other stadiums even if pindi is 3 km away its better for it to be in Islamabad.
 
Lol at those who think Islamabad stadium will have foreign team lining up to play in Pakistan . We might as well make a stadium in Zardari`s backyard , you don`t get safer than that .
 
I support the building of this cricket. As Islamabad needs its own international standard stadium. Also Pakistan need to have atleast one modern state of the art stadium.
 
There are actually some big pros and cons for it.

Not as black and white as Mani is making out to be
 
Security arguement is a poor one. International cricket will not return to Pakistan just because we have a stadium in Islamabad. There are two very simple reasons for this:
1) an international tour cannot be confined to Islamabad alone.
2) Islamabad has had its fair share of terror attacks. And least we forget, the Red Mosque (with its association with terror groups) was based in the heart of Islamabad.

Forget about international cricket coming to Pakistan. The state itself uses terrorist groups for policitical objectives and the world knows it. Use the money to support domestic cricket which needs all the help it can get.
 
even in India, during the test matches, the stadiums are empty.

Which series are you watching? There were 35,000 at Kolkata even on the second last day when India were in all sorts of trouble.

My argument is pure based on security point of view, Islamabad is relatively safer and can attract foreign teams.

Zaid foreign teams don't differentiate between Islamabad or Lahore or Karachi or Multan. It's all Pakistan to them.

I would rather have teams playing in Islamabad by investing $50 million than team playing in Dubai or Middle East.

I agree with that but again my argument is build a state of the art stadium, nothing wrong with that but only when international cricket has returned to Pakistan.
 
Security arguement is a poor one. International cricket will not return to Pakistan just because we have a stadium in Islamabad. There are two very simple reasons for this:
1) an international tour cannot be confined to Islamabad alone.
2) Islamabad has had its fair share of terror attacks. And least we forget, the Red Mosque (with its association with terror groups) was based in the heart of Islamabad.

Absolutely right.
 
3 km away, that is like 10 mins drive, lakta hai Zardari aur Zaka Ashraf open up a new construction company. :)
 
There is no hope of international cricket coming to Pakistan in the near future - and that is not the fault of the other international teams. After what happened to the Sri Lankan team it would be no surprise if there was no cricket for the next 20 years.

Instead of wasting money on a project such as this the PCB needs to accept the reality of the situation and make concrete plans in the UAE for the foreseeable future so that our players at least can get their fair share of international cricket.
 
The country is big enough for there to be pockets of areas which are peaceful and safe just like in India.

Nobody is going to go to seven sisters states to play a game are they?

It is racism on the worlds part not to play us at home.

Sometimes humans disgust me.
 
The country is big enough for there to be pockets of areas which are peaceful and safe just like in India.

Nobody is going to go to seven sisters states to play a game are they?

It is racism on the worlds part not to play us at home.

Sometimes humans disgust me.

Seven Sisters states dont get to organize too many intl games because cricket is not very popular sport over there. It gets its fair share though, it is not completely shunned out like pakistan.
 
Seven sister is peaceful...there are pockets of militancy here n there but mostly driven by extortion need ...ULFA in Assam is pretty much dead...in fact there are regular ODIs in Guwahati...the
Capital of Assam and gateway to seven sisters and as previous poster pointed out cricket is not really popular in these mountain states..there are more into Football and Boxing
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
 
The country is big enough for there to be pockets of areas which are peaceful and safe just like in India.

Nobody is going to go to seven sisters states to play a game are they?

It is racism on the worlds part not to play us at home.

Sometimes humans disgust me.



There is only one international stadium in north east and thats Guwahati and matches take place there.

Blame everything on racism and not incompetency of your country's organisations.
 
Well its pretty funny when spending so much money but country currently cannot hold International matches :))

Who on earth exactly runs Pakistan Cricket?
 
CDA stops PCB to construct stadium




SLAMABAD - Capital Development Authority (CDA) has ordered Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to stop working on the construction of stadium in Islamabad with immediate effect.
The PCB has already spent more than Rs 70 million on the construction of the stadium and it will be a huge loss to the national kitty if the CDA changes the site of the stadium at this stage. The CDA environment department has raised questions on the project which was originally meant for national park. According to CDA, neither construction at this place is allowed nor can tall-story buildings be constructed at the nearby place. But former president Asif Ali Zardari set aside all the rules and regulations and allocated the land to the PCB.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif noticed the site when he was traveling from the highway. He asked the relevant persons who gave permission to construct cricket stadium as it would destroy the beauty of the capital. The sources have confirmed that on the verbal directives of the prime minister, the CDA had issued directives to the PCB to stop construction and the CDA was ready to allocate the land to the PCB somewhere else for construction of the stadium.
Now after millions of rupees were spent on the mega project, the change of site will spell disaster for the national exchequer, as the entire amount was spent from the national kitty. The prime minister should order a detailed and comprehensive inquiry as why the land, which was meant for national park, was allocated to the PCB. The person, who forced CDA to allocate the land, should bear all the expenses and losses.
 
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I remember a month and a half ago a man with a gun , his wife and two kids was a security threat to the whole islamabad. Besides If a terrorist(does not have to be) enters the stadium , a drone could attack any moment(like it happened in KPK today). The security thing is pure bulshit , even our security forces headqurters are attacked without any problem.
 
the bigger the project is, the easier it is for politicians to get away with embezzlement.

Like seriously, there will be NO international cricket in Pak for atleast the next 7-10 years. Why waste money on an area that does not need a stadium.

This could be spent raising first class cricketer's salaries to attract more people to play cricket professionally.
 
:shm
I think we really need a marquee, advance cricket stadium because cricket will eventually return one day IA.

I don't see anything wrong with besides its PPP inspired name. I'm excited about it.

I agree. We need one flagship
Stadium . Cricket will never due in Pakistan , and eventually one day it will return. Look at indias stadiums
 
Agreed...the chances of any international sporting event in Pakistan is remote. Even BD turned down tour offer. This money could have been better used in infrastructure sports medicine gym at the local level.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
 
no point of this NOW. can plan for this when you foresee any change in security situation, which honestly i dont at all. so if any hope of security situation in Pakistan changing is there, then you can plan to build it in 18-24 months.

alternatively, you can do a mini project now, to get the "ground" build, with basic setup. then leave the 40milion upgrade part to be done in 12 months whenever needed and feeling security will improve.

for now take another 10 milion chunk of that and spend a couple million on more A team tours of ENG/AUS/NZ (especially with World cup there, and future test tours there), to try and get more exposure for our batting in particular to those conditions and identify/build on our backup talent.

rest of 5-6 million could be spent on improving domestic teams support or club teams support by providing better batting coaching options to them and/or whatever else our ex-cricketers feel will bring bigger bang for the buck.
 
Any renders?

If it is huge improvement over the previous one then why not.
 
Zaka Ashraf being banker knew how to make money. Start a new project, pass a budget, half of the money goes in your account and the project keeps hanging.
 
Feel sad for Zardari as he failed to name another monument in the name of his beloved wife.
I guess Shaheeday Millat Mohtarma Benazir Bhuttp Cricket Stadium will not come to fruition after all.
 
Everyone seems to be a business leader on this forum.

Islamabad needed a world class stadium that has been obvious for a while, if we could get teams to play a few matches in that ground that would be fantastic, as long as we provide them vvip security.
 
Whats the point of building stadiums, when you could have spent that money on improving domestic cricket, raising salaries domestic players or even funding sport science labs. Because lets face it we won't see intl cricket return to Pak for minimum 10yrs.
 
Remeber that Sheik Saab who called Misbah Geddar in Hamid Mir Show ?? He is the boss in Islamabad (if i am not wrong)
 
I remember a month and a half ago a man with a gun , his wife and two kids was a security threat to the whole islamabad. Besides If a terrorist(does not have to be) enters the stadium , a drone could attack any moment(like it happened in KPK today). The security thing is pure bulshit , even our security forces headqurters are attacked without any problem.

A drone attacking a major city/cricket stadium? C'mon son. :asif
 
The defeatist attitude on here boggles the mind. We must build this stadium and use it as part if the plan to bring int cricket back to pakistan. Security can be provided esp in islamabd. But will the powers that be allowthis?
 
i cant believe some of the comments in this thread.

well if we're building for the future and need to build into security, why dont we build five new stadiums in the middle of army camps? people will want to visit one day after all and they will be completely safe.

thats some of the most stupid logic possible. any even cursory look at international journals on the view of pakistan from the outside would confirm what the world is saying - theres not going to be any tours anytime soon. so why waste money on another facility that will fall into disrepair before anyone uses it? it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. when theyre close to coming - and it wont be an overnight decision - upgrade a couple of stadiums r begin constuction then, when you know you have some revenue to cover it.

it also makes me sick to my stomach how some people are perfectly comfortable with ppp stooges skimming off the top. this acceptance is what has made this country such a terrible dysfunctional failure.
 
I remember a month and a half ago a man with a gun , his wife and two kids was a security threat to the whole islamabad. Besides If a terrorist(does not have to be) enters the stadium , a drone could attack any moment(like it happened in KPK today). The security thing is pure bulshit , even our security forces headqurters are attacked without any problem.

Security threat? Half of the mohalla was standing around them in a circle.
 
I think we do need one in the capital. It doesn't matter if we get any cricket in Pakistan any time soon. But if we do, this has to be the place where its placed.
 
BTW how is a Top class Stadium going to "destroy the beauty" of the city :facepalm:
 
what are you going to do with a stadium when the domestic standard is so poor, facilities are sparse, corruption is rife and prospects are playing in their chappals?

are you lot thinking of playing kabbaddi or attending saturday morning donkey markets in it?
 
The defeatist attitude on here boggles the mind. We must build this stadium and use it as part if the plan to bring int cricket back to pakistan. Security can be provided esp in islamabd. But will the powers that be allowthis?

Apparently they didn't :))

Read post # 52
 
what are you going to do with a stadium when the domestic standard is so poor, facilities are sparse, corruption is rife and prospects are playing in their chappals?

are you lot thinking of playing kabbaddi or attending saturday morning donkey markets in it?

At least PCB is building something so let them build. What is wrong with that?
 
At least PCB is building something so let them build. What is wrong with that?

why dont you have them build a new minar-e-pakistan in dadyal then? at least theyll be doing something?

theres nothing good about doing something for the sake of it. the pcb has no spare money, the country has no spare money - so spending what little there is on a pipe dream that *might* be some use at some indeterminate time in the future is as good as criminally irresponsible.

can you understand how spending that money on facilities, training and coaching staff, local grounds and on equipment for rural areas would go a billion miles further? widening the talent pool and giving people suffering in the current zardari/sharif economic climate something to enjoy?
 
why dont you have them build a new minar-e-pakistan in dadyal then? at least theyll be doing something?

theres nothing good about doing something for the sake of it. the pcb has no spare money, the country has no spare money - so spending what little there is on a pipe dream that *might* be some use at some indeterminate time in the future is as good as criminally irresponsible.

can you understand how spending that money on facilities, training and coaching staff, local grounds and on equipment for rural areas would go a billion miles further? widening the talent pool and giving people suffering in the current zardari/sharif economic climate something to enjoy?
Which one is more likely to attract awaam? A stadium in Islamabad or Minar-e-Pakistan(version2)
in dadyal?
This project already started so they might complete it since they have already spent enough money on it but what are the chances of PCB spending money on facilities etc?
 
Which one is more likely to attract awaam? A stadium in Islamabad or Minar-e-Pakistan(version2)
in dadyal?
This project already started so they might complete it since they have already spent enough money on it but what are the chances of PCB spending money on facilities etc?

i take the point that now theyve started, is it a greater loss to stop, but until we've seen the numbers we cant tell. as much as i have a deep distaste for all pcb chairmen, some of them miraculously managed to do the odd thing right. naseem ashraf according to press reports after he left apparently did quite a bit in terms of spending money on facilities around the country. so it is possible.

i think if no one is playing in the stadium of islamabad, or of the ticket prices are too high or if the quality of cricket is poor, the awaam might well go for m-e-p v2.0 if they spend as much money on it as they will the stadium. do people say they dont go to the pindi stadium because its not modern enough???

they have criminally spent a lot on it (i wonder how much ended up in zardaris pocket and i wonder how many ppp supporters here will own up to that) - but i dont know how much is left. whatever that amount is, there needs to be an assessment of who benefits to what extent from kickbacks versus what can be done in terms of rural cricketing facilities, in order ot make a judgement.

either way, mani is absolutely right. this abomination of a project should never have been started.
 
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