PCB Confirms Readiness Of Lahore's Iconic Gaddafi Stadium In Record Time Ahead Of Champions Trophy

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced that the renovation and upgradation work at Lahore's iconic Gaddafi Stadium has been completed in a remarkable 117 days ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy.

With the renovations now finished, the stadium is ready to host international cricket matches, including the prestigious ICC Champions Trophy.

The PCB said in a statement said that the new-look stadium now has better facilities, new floodlights, hospitality boxes, increased seating capacity, electronic scoreboards and top-of-the-line LED towers.

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"I am grateful to all those people who put in day and night of work to get the stadium ready on time despite the apprehensions and criticism," PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi said as quoted by PTI.

It was reported recently that PCB was running behind by at least five weeks in completing the work. PCB is required to hand over the stadiums to the ICC by February 12 as the tournament begins a week after.

Prime Minister, Shahbaz Sharif will officially inaugurate the stadium on Friday during a ceremony, where notable artists such as Ali Zafar, Aima Baig, and Arif Lohar will perform live.

"I am especially obligated to the nearly 1000 workers who made this dream possible," Naqvi said and promised a much better viewing experience for spectators with elevated seating and removal of the high fencing around the ground.

The PCB will hold a similar inauguration ceremony at the National Stadium in Karachi on February 11 with President Asif Zardari expected to grace the occasion.

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Naqvi has admitted that the budget allocated for the upgradation of the three stadiums in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi had crossed the initial evaluations but said the new state-of-the-art venues would serve Pakistan cricket well in the future.

The PCB had initially allocated 12.8 billion rupees for the work but apparently, the budget is said to have crossed 18 billion rupees.

The PCB said the projects were managed with PCB money and no assistance from any other source, including the government, was taken.