Gloom falls on B'lore stadium

Fans to get refunds from today

From a high-energy hotbed of IPL cricket action till Saturday, the place appeared like a ghost of its former self, flattened to submission by the twin blasts.

There was no cricket  fan anywhere near the stadium. But thousands were preparing to return on Tuesday to collect ticket refunds. That process will  continue till April 24. Inside the venue, labourers were working overtime to clear the last vestiges of the Royal Challengers Bangalore emblems.

For the City Police and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), the blasts were a haunting embarrassment. Without those numbing explosions, the stadium would have been the cynosure of the nation on April 21 and 22, the dates fixed for the high-profile semi-final matches. 

There was no doubting the success, since the tickets had been completely sold out. Nearly 70 per cent of the tickets, according to KSCA officials, were paid for. The rest of the tickets were sold at a nominal rate to the members and other corporate associates of the IPL. “We will be refunding the entire amount to all the people who had bought the tickets. While 20-25 per cent of the tickets were booked by corporates, the rest were sold in the open market,” said KSCA Assistant Secretary B K Ravi.

On Monday, instead of the fans, there were only KSCA officials and the technical team clearing the stadium of all  “red” coloured chairs and hoardings.

As the police and private security personnel hovered around in silence, temporary freezers and the popular cheerleader podium were dismantled and loaded on to trucks to be shifted out of the venue.