SLC: Sorry state and real estate
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) does everything but what it must do to hoist the country’s cricket from the abysmal depths it has slid into over the years. It has earned notoriety for indiscipline, politicisation, waste and corruption among other things. The conduct of some of the present-day national cricketers reminds us of the opening lines of Yeats’ Second Coming – the falcon cannot hear the falconer/Things fall apart ... Players are at daggers drawn as can be seen from their dirty social media battles, which erupt from time to time. Most of them do not care two hoots about leaders or leadership. Cricket administrators stand accused of corrupt deals and various other malpractices that have eaten into the vitals of SLC.
The unveiling of SLC’s grand plan to build a massive stadium at Homagama while the country is reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, compares with the yahapalana government’s supplementary estimates for luxury vehicle purchases in the wake of disasters such as the collapse of the Meethotamulla garbage dump (2017) and the Salawa armoury blast (2016). SLC has unflinchingly demonstrated its callous disregard for the suffering of the public including cricket lovers. Cricketers, to their credit, are helping the country’s battle against Covid-19 in various ways.
SLC will borrow USD 40 million from a bank to fund the Homagama project, according to media reports. How does it propose to repay the loan? One may recall that SLC almost went bankrupt and could not pay players, coaches and other employees their salaries, thanks to its mega investment in the Suriyawewa stadium, a political project, which everyone knew was an utter waste of funds. As for the construction of the Dambulla stadium, there were huge cost overruns to the tune of Rs. 549 million. Somebody should have been sent to jail for that.
How many matches have been played in Hambantota and Dambulla? Suriyawewa has hosted only one game in the last three years, and Dambulla no game during that period. SLC, in its wisdom, needs more such grounds! The international cricket grounds at Moratuwa and Asgiriya are hardly used. Before venturing to make any more wasteful investment in infrastructural projects, SLC has to reveal what it is planning to do with the Suriyaweva and Dambulla grounds.
SLC laments that when ODIs and T20s are played in Colombo, it cannot accommodate at least 5,000 spectators. This may be true. Only Khettarama can host 35,000. It, therefore, claims there is a pressing need for a more spacious stadium close to Colombo. But the fact remains that in New Zealand, South Africa and England, some World Cup matches have been played at grounds which cannot accommodate more than 10,000 spectators each.
Another argument SLC is peddling in support of its Homagama project is that it does not own land around Colombo, and the new stadium will be a worthwhile investment. Land value increases in all parts of the country, especially in the Colombo city and its bustling suburbs like Homagama. But SLC is not a real estate company to invest in land, is it? Its raison détre is to administer and promote cricket, and this exactly is what it is not doing properly.
SLC has got its priorities wrong. What it should do is not to build any more stadia in a bid to attract more crowds but to strive to retain the frustrated fans who are losing interest in cricket. Unless it gets its act together, rids itself of corruption, waste and inefficiency and take steps to revitalise cricket, the day may not be far off when it fails to attract enough spectators to fill even a school cricket ground.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) does everything but what it must do to hoist the country’s cricket from the abysmal depths it has slid into over the years. It has earned notoriety for indiscipline, politicisation, waste and corruption among other things. The conduct of some of the present-day national cricketers reminds us of the opening lines of Yeats’ Second Coming – the falcon cannot hear the falconer/Things fall apart ... Players are at daggers drawn as can be seen from their dirty social media battles, which erupt from time to time. Most of them do not care two hoots about leaders or leadership. Cricket administrators stand accused of corrupt deals and various other malpractices that have eaten into the vitals of SLC.
The unveiling of SLC’s grand plan to build a massive stadium at Homagama while the country is reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, compares with the yahapalana government’s supplementary estimates for luxury vehicle purchases in the wake of disasters such as the collapse of the Meethotamulla garbage dump (2017) and the Salawa armoury blast (2016). SLC has unflinchingly demonstrated its callous disregard for the suffering of the public including cricket lovers. Cricketers, to their credit, are helping the country’s battle against Covid-19 in various ways.
SLC will borrow USD 40 million from a bank to fund the Homagama project, according to media reports. How does it propose to repay the loan? One may recall that SLC almost went bankrupt and could not pay players, coaches and other employees their salaries, thanks to its mega investment in the Suriyawewa stadium, a political project, which everyone knew was an utter waste of funds. As for the construction of the Dambulla stadium, there were huge cost overruns to the tune of Rs. 549 million. Somebody should have been sent to jail for that.
How many matches have been played in Hambantota and Dambulla? Suriyawewa has hosted only one game in the last three years, and Dambulla no game during that period. SLC, in its wisdom, needs more such grounds! The international cricket grounds at Moratuwa and Asgiriya are hardly used. Before venturing to make any more wasteful investment in infrastructural projects, SLC has to reveal what it is planning to do with the Suriyaweva and Dambulla grounds.
SLC laments that when ODIs and T20s are played in Colombo, it cannot accommodate at least 5,000 spectators. This may be true. Only Khettarama can host 35,000. It, therefore, claims there is a pressing need for a more spacious stadium close to Colombo. But the fact remains that in New Zealand, South Africa and England, some World Cup matches have been played at grounds which cannot accommodate more than 10,000 spectators each.
Another argument SLC is peddling in support of its Homagama project is that it does not own land around Colombo, and the new stadium will be a worthwhile investment. Land value increases in all parts of the country, especially in the Colombo city and its bustling suburbs like Homagama. But SLC is not a real estate company to invest in land, is it? Its raison détre is to administer and promote cricket, and this exactly is what it is not doing properly.
SLC has got its priorities wrong. What it should do is not to build any more stadia in a bid to attract more crowds but to strive to retain the frustrated fans who are losing interest in cricket. Unless it gets its act together, rids itself of corruption, waste and inefficiency and take steps to revitalise cricket, the day may not be far off when it fails to attract enough spectators to fill even a school cricket ground.
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