The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Thursday that the renovation and upgradation of Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium have been completed in a record 117 days, making it ready to host international matches, including the ICC Champions Trophy.
In a statement, the PCB highlighted that the revamped stadium now features enhanced facilities, upgraded floodlights, modern hospitality boxes, increased seating capacity, electronic scoreboards, and state-of-the-art LED towers.
“I am grateful to all those people who put in day and night of work to get the stadium ready on time despite the apprehensions and criticism,” PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi said.
Recent reports indicated that the PCB was at least five weeks behind schedule in completing the renovations. The board is required to hand over the stadiums to the ICC by February 12, as the tournament is set to begin a week later.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif will officially inaugurate the stadium on Friday during a special ceremony, featuring live performances by renowned artists Ali Zafar, Aima Baig, and Arif Lohar.
“I am specially obligated to the nearly 1000 workers who made this dream possible,” Naqvi said and promised a much better viewing experience for spectators with elevated seating and removal of the high fencing around the ground.
The newly constructed stadium will host its first match on February 8, featuring Pakistan and New Zealand in the opening game of a tri-series that also includes South Africa.
A similar inauguration ceremony for the National Stadium in Karachi is scheduled for February 11, with President Asif Zardari expected to attend.
Naqvi acknowledged that the budget for upgrading the stadiums in Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi exceeded initial estimates but emphasized that the modernized venues would significantly benefit Pakistan cricket in the long run.
Initially, the PCB had allocated 12.8 billion rupees for the renovations; however, the total expenditure has reportedly surpassed 18 billion rupees.
The PCB clarified that the entire project was funded internally, without any financial assistance from the government or external sources.