Khulna set to be new Test venue?

[Nadim]

Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna could become the seventh Test venue of Bangladesh when the country hosts West Indies in November, said officials of the Bangladesh Cricket Board on Tuesday.
BCB took an initiative to hold a Test match and an one-day international as the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong is all set to go for a renovation work ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2014.
ZACS hosted at least one Test of every series in Bangladesh since 2006, but it is unlikely to be ready until early 2014 after renovation work starts in two months time, said the officials.
It left the BCB with little choice as other major venues will also see some kind of renovation works during the period. However, officials said that the Khulna venue is almost ready and all they need to host a Test match here is the approval of the International Cricket Council.
‘We are trying to arrange a Test match and an ODI at Khulna when we play West Indies in November provided we get the approval from the ICC,’ said Shafiqur Rahman, chairman of grounds and facilities committee of BCB.
‘At that point of time there will be renovation works at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup. We wont get that venue till the mid of 2013,’ he said.
The BCB equipped Khulna stadium with all modern facilities after it was selected as one of the alternative venues during the last ICC World Cup. It also has the most modern drainage system similar to the one at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, the home of BCB.
The stadium, that hosted Bangladesh’s first official Twenty20 International, is already a recognised ODI venue, though it hosted only two matches, both in 2006 against Kenya and Zimbabwe respectively.
If it gets the nod from ICC it will be Bangladesh’s seventh Test venue after Bangabandhu National Stadium, Chittagong’s MA Aziz Stadium, Fatullah stadium, Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur and Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.
Among these venues Fatullah and Bogra have hosted only one Test match each

SOURCE


If this is true, this will be a great news for the fans. I'm damn sure this ground have better facility than ctg

Also, gd to see CTG stadium will go under renovation work, which we badly need

[MohammedC]

Chittagong ground needs proper drainage system like SBNCS

[Dilscoop]

Ya, you have to have a INT stadium in the nation of your all time best cricketer.

Go ShakiNation.

[hoodlum]

I wonder how's the hotel facilities in khulna..as far as i know khulna doesnt have a 5 star hotel yet.

[MohammedC]

[Maysun]

Looks very basic to me, how old is this photo?

Whatever happened to the Cox Bazaar stadium plans?

[mufi_02]

Originally Posted by hoodlum
I wonder how's the hotel facilities in khulna..as far as i know khulna doesnt have a 5 star hotel yet.

That's the main problem. I don't think they have any quality hotels. They all look 2.5 star at best.

Hotel Royal

[oronnya]

Originally Posted by mufi_02
That's the main problem. I don't think they have any quality hotels. They all look 2.5 star at best.

Hotel Royal
]

But the best part is now there will be lots of investors who will be interested to invest in hotels and other facilities !!! Now BPL will also held in this stadium..Khulna is one of the top tourist attractions in BD and you really needed that exposure for this city !!

[mufi_02]

Originally Posted by oronnya
But the best part is now there will be lots of investors who will be interested to invest in hotels and other facilities !!! Now BPL will also held in this stadium..Khulna is one of the top tourist attractions in BD and you really needed that exposure for this city !!

I don't think having only one Int'l stadium will make the investors go wild. We barely play cricket and whenever we do, most of the matches are in SBNS. Once CTG gets renovated, Khulna won't get more than 2-3 intl matches in a calendar year. So I am not that optimistic

[zinatf]

Great news!! Thanks Nadim
I was actually looking forward to the Cox Bazar stadium....would have been amazing if that happened....an international level stadium just beside the beach....how cool is that....but you see amidst of all this...the tourism board will have to take a step in this...along with BCB they will have to work hard in getting investors so as to get 5star rated hotels or motels and also the entire development of the city and nearby areas of the states...but this is where everything is planned...but nothing takes place

[oronnya]

Originally Posted by mufi_02
I don't think having only one Int'l stadium will make the investors go wild. We barely play cricket and whenever we do, most of the matches are in SBNS. Once CTG gets renovated, Khulna won't get more than 2-3 intl matches in a calendar year. So I am not that optimistic

If we continue with BPL successfully I think that will definitely make the investors interested as soooo many people from all over BD will go there to cheer for their team.. specially with Shakib's fan base whenever KRB will be playing at their home ground his supporters will follow.. So the demand for good facilities will definitely increase and our investors should be smart enough to meet that demand..

But of course with BD you never know.. shobai eikhane ulta pothe hattei je beshi pochhondo kore

[simon]

good news,thanks Paglahawa,

Khulna theke Dhaka koto dur(no bhugol quiz here)? beshi dur na hoile kintu Dhaka hotel e thaika match er din subhe sadik e rouna dilei hoya jay.

[Rubu]

I'd rather focus on getting our existing venues to world level than getting more of the same. The number of tests that we play, is it really necessary? Why not make the other venues fast and bouncy and improved gallery and accommodations first?

[Ajfar]

http://www.hotel-castlesalam.com/

review from trip adviser
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ty_Khulna.html

Need some serious make over but atleast something for now. We can always hope for improvement.

[Equinox]

Originally Posted by oronnya
If we continue with BPL successfully I think that will definitely make the investors interested as soooo many people from all over BD will go there to cheer for their team.. specially with Shakib's fan base whenever KRB will be playing at their home ground his supporters will follow.. So the demand for good facilities will definitely increase and our investors should be smart enough to meet that demand..

Even if that does happen, which I'm sceptical about, I very much doubt the people you are talking about will go stay in 5 star hotels just to watch cricket. And if the BPL does adopt a home-away format, wouldn't the people just wait for the stars to come to their city and watch them play? I agree with mufi. Cant see decent hotels springing up in Khulna just because of the BPL or 1/2 international matches a year.

Mirpur/Chittagong/Sylhet/Cox's Bazar - these venues have the facilities so just develop them. No need for a new drama everyday. We can possibly have another stadium in Dhaka around the Purbachal area. That's five international venues. There's no need for more.

[oronnya]

Originally Posted by simon
good news,thanks Paglahawa,

Khulna theke Dhaka koto dur(no bhugol quiz here)? beshi dur na hoile kintu Dhaka hotel e thaika match er din subhe sadik e rouna dilei hoya jay.

nah Dhakai theke Khulnai khela dekhe ferot asha jabe na.. amar jotdur mone achhe oneekk lomba bus ride .. Tired hoye jaben.. khela dekhar tel thakbe na..

[zinatf]

^^GURU!! Korlen to Bangladeshi politician marka ekta comment!!!

Haire

[hoodlum]

Originally Posted by Equinox
Even if that does happen, which I'm sceptical about, I very much doubt the people you are talking about will go stay in 5 star hotels just to watch cricket. And if the BPL does adopt a home-away format, wouldn't the people just wait for the stars to come to their city and watch them play? I agree with mufi. Cant see decent hotels springing up in Khulna just because of the BPL or 1/2 international matches a year.

Mirpur/Chittagong/Sylhet/Cox's Bazar - these venues have the facilities so just develop them. No need for a new drama everyday. We can possibly have another stadium in Dhaka around the Purbachal area. That's five international venues. There's no need for more.

Exactly. Bogra has a 3 star hotel which is better than any other hotels in Khulna. Why not play a test match over there? Officials say that Bogra lacks an airport for which BCB is unabe to provide logistical support. But Khulna doesnt have an airport too. Jessore airport is the closest one but that too is 60km away from Khulna. I'd rather want Bogra to emerge as the next venue rather than Khulna. Bogra stadium is in good condition and its outfield is one of the best in BD. Even building a new Stadium in Coxs Bazar is logical as it has good accomodation and an airport. I hope Sylhet stadium is renovated well before the t20 wc as every other facilities are available there.

[Nocturnal]

Old news about Khulna Stadium but worth re-visiting .... Good Facility

http://www.banglacricket.com/alochon...0&postcount=52

[Gowza]

the more international quality stadiums/facilities, the better it is for BD cricket.

[zinatf]

[Dilscoop]

So much for Cox

[Kana-Baba]

need more info about the hotel.

[tkandi4]

IMHO, we don't need another stadium considering how little international games we play.We spent a ton of money and got ICC approval for Fatullah, Bogra stadiums, but how many games did we play there? Teams even didn't want to go to Fatullah for practice. But new stadium construction, renovation of existing ones, etc. are opportunities to make money, so you will see a lot of initiatives from BCB for this kind of projects.

[Navo]

Don't worry, we can just airlift the cricketers by helicopter to and from Sheraton/Sonargaon =p

or Beamer bhai can give them a lift in his car-plane that I hear (read) that he has recently acquired.