Pro Kabaddi fans in Mumbai stand a chance of missing out on live matches in their city during the sixth season of the franchise-based league, starting in October. The U-Mumba franchise, which is owned by entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala’s Unilazer Ventures, is considering moving its base out of Mumbai because of a lack of affordable venues in the city.
Over the last five seasons, U-Mumba have played their home matches at the National Sports Club of India’s indoor arena called Dome in Worli. However, the franchise is unlikely to play there for the sixth season because of the spiralling cost of renting the facility.
According to sources, the NSCI is charging Rs 25 lakh per day to use Dome. NSCI reserves Dome for sports events for 50 days in a calendar year, for which it charges a special rate of Rs 1 lakh per day, but U-Mumba has never been able to get those dates so far in the last four years since Pro Kabaddi started.
U-Mumba would require to book Dome for 10 days, which includes three days for setting up, six days of matches, and one day for dismantling. At a rate of Rs 25 lakh per day, the franchise would have to cough up Rs 2.5 crore to host matches for the upcoming season.
Unilazer Sports CEO Supratik Sen confirmed that the franchise was looking to move out of NSCI. “The NSCI is available for the dates of Pro Kabaddi season 6 but at an unviable cost,” he said. “We are also in discussions with the Andheri Sports Complex, but it does not have a large enough indoor facility to host Pro Kabaddi matches.”
One of the facilities U-Mumba is considering is Nasik’s Meenatai Thakre Indoor Stadium, which has a capacity of 2,000 with the option of adding another 500-odd seats. This would be a drop from Dome’s capacity of around 3,500, but the Nasik facility would be available for around Rs 15,000 per day, which means the franchise could end up saving Rs 2.48 crore across 10 days compared to NSCI.
U-Mumba haven’t completely given up hope of finding an affordable venue in Mumbai, but there is a good chance the city will host no Pro Kabaddi matches this season. “It will be unfortunate if Mumbai loses out on Pro Kabaddi matches but the fact is that there seems to be just no economically viable option,” said Sen.
When Scroll.in contacted Mashal Sports, which owns Pro Kabaddi, a spokesperson said, “Mashal has always ensured that Pro Kabaddi is conducted at the best indoor sport stadium in any city where its matches are conducted. The league approves venues where with the best possible experience for in-stadia spectators as well as television viewers can be simultaneously achieved. We will work with all stakeholders to maintain this record.”
If Pro Kabaddi does move out of Mumbai, it won’t be the first time that a sports event has been priced out of India’s financial capital. The Premier Badminton League and the Pro Wrestling League have also previously moved out of the city because of pricing matters.
The first season of Ultimate Table Tennis last year was hosted at NSCI, but the league did not return to Mumbai for the second season, although it is unclear whether the reason was the price.
The sixth season of Pro Kabaddi is scheduled to commence on October 19.
Corrections and clarifications: This story has been updated with the quote of the Mashal Sports spokesperson.
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