PCB seeks to shore up finances amid increased stadium costs

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has elected to pursue external overdraft facilities of between Rs3bn (£8.53m/€10.25m/$10.76m) and Rs6bn following increases in costs for its redevelopment of three stadia ahead of the staging of the forthcoming Champions Trophy.

The 2025 Champions Trophy is taking place from February 19 to March 9, with National Bank Stadium in Karachi, Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium having all undergone upgrades for the national team tournament.

The new-look Gaddafi Stadium was unveiled on February 7, with National Bank Stadium following suit earlier this week. The Dawn newspaper, citing minutes from a PCB Board of Governors (BoG) meeting, said the PCB has decided to shore up its financial position after it was revealed that the budgetary requirement for the three stadium projects had increased by Rs5bn, from Rs13bn to Rs18bn.

The minutes read: “In order to fund this additional requirement, the management has taken proactive measures by reducing overall operational expense budget for fiscal year 2024-25 by Rs3bn. Additionally, most of the other capital expenditures for this fiscal year have been either cancelled or postponed.

“All future budgeted operational and capital expenditure are being closely monitored to ensure judicious spending. However, based on overall estimated results, there might be a periodic shortfall of approx. Rs3bn to Rs6bn during the current fiscal year.

“He (chief financial officer) further added that considering the anticipated overall future cash flow requirements, there is a strong possibility that the PCB will require period external cash flow support for the foreseeable future.

“Consequently, the management has agreed in principle to secure external cash overdraft facilities in the amount of Rs3bn to Rs6bn to support any unexpected additional funding requirements. The management is in negotiations with different governmental and private banks to secure the best possible arrangements.

“The BoG unanimously endorsed the increase in the stadium upgrade budget by Rs5bn. Moreover, the BoG endorsed the CFO’s proposal to secure external cash flow overdraft facilities up to Rs6bn to meet possible periodic funding shortfall, if any.”

The International Cricket Council awarded the Champions Trophy hosting rights in November 2021, with Pakistan landing its first major ICC tournament since 1996. The landmark event was due to take place solely across Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi, only for these plans to be revised in December.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) decision that it would not compete in a Champions Trophy staged in Pakistan, amid the historically fraught relations between the two countries, has necessitated the introduction of a hybrid event model, as used during the 2023 Asia Cup, allowing Pakistan to continue as host, but with India’s games staged outside the country.

Dubai International Cricket Stadium has been brought in as an additional venue and will host all of India’s games, including the showpiece group stage game between the two nations, and potentially a semi-final and the final itself, should India progress that far.