RCB, KSCA Make Their Presentations to Experts Committee on Playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Final Call on March 16
The Chinnaswamy stadium incident claimed 11 persons on June 4 previous year. Besides, 70 people sustained injuries, some of them serious.
Bengaluru:Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), operators of M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru city, made it clear to the Experts Committee constituted by the State Government over its preparedness to host matches in the ensuing Indian Premier League (IPL)-2026 season while franchise cricket team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) declared to the Committee to ready to play their home matches at the stampede hit stadium.
The meeting was held over arrangements being made by the KSCA as per the recommendations of Experts Committee constituted by the State Government for the smooth conduct of matches and reoccurrence of previous year June 4 stampede at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
The Chinnaswamy stadium incident claimed 11 persons on June 4 previous year. Besides, 70 people sustained injuries, some of them serious. The stampede occurred after a large crowd gathering around the stadium tried to enter the jam packed stadium to watch felicitation to RCB players on their winning IPL-2025 trophy. After the stampede, the State Government withdrew hosting rights of KSCA which have now been restored.
Taking note of the presentations made by KSCA and RCB at the meeting, the Experts Committee is expected to announce its decision on March 16. Members of KSCA and management representatives of RCB held a meeting with the Experts Committee headed by Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao in Bengaluru on Friday over conduct of matches at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
Some of the recommendations to KSCA include widening the width of gates/ making adequate ambulances in place to ferry if needed among others. For RCB, the State Government stated event organizer will be held legally liable if an accident on outer roads, crowd mismanagement, emergency access fails among others.
Spokesperson of KSCA Vinay Mruthunjaya termed the meeting “a constructive one wherein all stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to ensure that the matches can be conducted in a safe, well-regulated and seamless manner.”
Vinay Mruthunjaya said “A detailed presentation on the infrastructural upgrades/arrangements and safety measures undertaken at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in line with the recommendations of the Expert Committee that are to be implemented under phase-1 of the compliance framework.”
To the Experts Committee, RCB representatives and their associated operational agencies made a presentation over their readiness to play matches at the Chinnaswamy stadium. RCB stated its operational plans for the smooth and orderly conduct of the upcoming IPL matches.
