Hassan Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has handed over 14 acres of land in the newly developed S.M. Krishna Layout on the outskirts of the city to Karnataka State Cricket Association to develop an international standard cricket grounds.
The KSCA, which entered into an agreement with the HUDA on the usage of land in Hassan on Thursday, has exuded confidence that it will develop the land such that within next seven-eight months a cricket match could be held.
The KSCA has got the land for thirty years on lease at the rate of ₹ 3.5 lakh per year as rent. The rental amount increases at the rate of five percent every year. “The lease period starts on November 1, this year. We are committed to build a turf wicket ground, a dressing room, pavilion and in the coming days a gym, a swimming pool and other facilities will come up,” said R. Sudhakar Rao, Secretary of KSCA, in a press conference.
The KSCA had earlier sought 23 acres of land in the layout for the cricket grounds. As the layout development met with legal hurdles, following opposition from farmers in the area, the project did not proceed further. “We decided to handover 14 acres of land to the KSCA only after the court cleared it. Besides that, we have already allotted sites to the public in the layout. If the cricket grounds comes up soon, the layout will also develop in a short span of time,” said H.R.Krishna Kumar, chairman of HUDA.
The HUDA has organised a programme to handover the land formally on Saturday. Members of Karnataka cricket team and office bearers of the KSCA are expected to attend.
Mr. Sudhakar Rao said the association would send its engineering team within a week to prepare a detail project report for developing the ground. “Based on the report the association will fix the budget and start the work. Once the ground is ready, we will hold league matches initially and then we may conduct camps for cricketers under different age groups,” he said.
When asked about holding international matches in Hassan, Mr. Rao said organising international matches would be in the later days. “Besides the international standard ground, we need airport connectivity and five-star hotel facilities to organise international matches,” he said. The international standard ground would help the local talents. The association has developed grounds in other places including Hubballi, Shivamogga, Mysuru and Belagavi, he added.
