IPL teams keen on sorting out revenue issue

Eight franchise owners to meet BCCI top brass today

Among other crucial issues, the eight franchises of the Indian Premier League will be keen to know as to how the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) plans to make up for their revenue losses at their meeting with the Board and IPL officials in Chennai on Wednesday. 

The teams are likely to see a significant reduction in their earnings, as a part of the T20 event has been shifted the UAE due to general elections in the country from April 7 to May 12. So far the team owners have got only a verbal assurance from the BCCI that their concerns (losing out on gate collections) will be suitably addressed.

Gate collections are one of the major revenues for the hugely popular league but given their experience in the second edition, which was held in South Africa again due to its clash of dates with the 2009 general elections, they fear huge losses. “We had to suffer big cut in our earnings because we couldn’t have full houses for majority of our ‘designated’ home matches,” said an official from an influential franchise. The BCCI, the official said, only partly compensated for the losses then.

The UAE is set to host 16 matches between April 16 and 30 and, if the Home Ministry doesn’t permit matches in India in early May, another of set of matches will be held in Bangladesh between May 1 and 12. Supposing that the IPL will return to India only after the Bangladesh leg, each franchise is expected to lose out on hosting at least four matches which amounts to nearly 60 per cent of the total seven home matches. 

According to estimates, the gate collections per match range between Rs 4 and 5 crore in venues like Mumbai and Kolkata that have larger stadium capacities. That puts the total approximate loss at Rs 16 to 20 crore per franchise and slightly less for teams with smaller stadiums. Chennai too would have been in the same bracket but with two major stands at the Chidambaram stadium not allowed to be opened to the fans by the local authorities, its capacity was to reduced a large extent. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore, for instance, made Rs 2-3 crore per match through gate collection and the revenue jumped even more during marquee clashes like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. 

Surprisingly enough, the highest collections came from the two matches hosted by IPL’s newest venue Raipur which was Delhi Daredevils’ ‘away’ home ground. “Each match had collections close to Rs 7 crore,” said an official with an experience in ticketing. The newer venues like Raipur, Ranchi, Dharamsala and Cuttack, where the demand for IPL matches is huge, also contribute to revenues in a big way. 

The franchises, however, are hoping that the large expat population from the sub-continent settled in the UAE will ensure that the stadiums are packed. Encouragingly for them, the sponsors too have reportedly assured their backing given the market for their products and TV timings that suit the Indian audience. The BCCI/IPL officials are also working overtime to convince the government to give them the green signal for the early return of the tournament to India to minimise the costs.