Banks take over MCA’s Gahunje stadium for non-payment of loan

Pune: NP NEWS 24 ONLINE – The Bank of Maharashtra on Monday took possession of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) stadium in Gahunje, on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway, for non-payment of Rs 70 crore loan. A consortium of banks led by Bank of Maharashtra had granted the amount for construction of the stadium.

The bank had earlier sent notices twice after declaring the loan account as a non-performing asset (NPA).

MCA honorary secretary Riaz Bagwan said that they will soon pay Rs 17 crores to convert the account from NPA to standard account. We have also approached the BCCI administrators for funds, he said.

The dream to have MCA stadium started to turn into reality in 2005 with the Managing Committee of Maharashtra Cricket Association taking a decision to build a new stadium for the Association. A suitable piece of land at Village Gahunje, along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway was identified in the year 2007. Nestled amidst the resplendent greens in a natural ‘bowl’, this land is flanked by hills on one side and a breath taking view of the landscape on the other side – making it a very picturesque stadium.

The location of this stadium is such that it is easily accessible for the cricket buffs of Pune and Mumbai as well:

– It is within the close vicinity of the IT Hub of Hinjewadi, the auto hub of Chakan & the industrial belt of PCMC.
– It is also just a 2 hour drive from Mumbai.

A ground breaking ceremony was performed at this site, on the 21st of October 2007, by Mr. Sharad Pawar, the then president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, in the auspicious presence of various dignitaries of the Board of Control for Cricket in India including Mr. Shashank Manohar, Mr. Niranjan Shah, Mr. N Srinivasan and Mr. Ajit Pawar, the then Irrigation and Guardian Minister for Pune.

Meanwhile, with the assistance of several agencies involved in the project, MCA shortlisted various construction firms of national repute for carrying out the main construction work. M/S Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Ltd. were finally selected and awarded the contract for the construction of the first phase of the stadium in November, 2009; after an elaborate technical evaluation and commercial negotiations by the Managing Committee.

Work on the site started on the 14th of November 2009 after the architectural design was completed by Sir Michael Hopkins of Hopkins Architects, London, England. The structural design was provided by the Adams Kara Taylor (UK) Ltd. Tata Consulting Engineers acted as the MEP consultants. Buro Happold India Ltd, Dongre & Associates and Eco Design India Pvt Ltd were the other agencies who provided project management, cost control and additional structural inputs respectively.

The capacity of the stadium today on completion of the first phase is 45000 seats.

This imposing stadium with its modern facilities and amenities was home to its first Ranji trophy game, played between Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh on the 21st December 2011, following a soft opening of the ground at the hands of Mr. Shashank Manohar.

In November 2015 this facility after inspection by the ICC was granted approval as a test match center, and has hosted the very first test match in February 2017, in the 80 year history of the association.