As the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) gears up to host the Champions Trophy 2025 in February, the board's Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has given his nod for the upgradation of Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi stadiums.
The PCB chief's nod came during his visit to BDP Pattern's London head office, a renowned architectural company based in the United Kingdom, where he met Chairman Chris Harding and other senior officials.
The development comes days after sources told Geo News that the board commenced renovation work at Karachi's National Stadium which will be one of the three venues that will host the next year's mega tournament.
The other two arenas picked by the PCB to host the Champions Trophy are Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium and Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium.
The PCB has allocated Rs12.80 billion for the upgradation of the three venues which will be renovated ahead of the marquee event which has been proposed to be held from February 19 to March 9 next year.
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved a budget of around $70 million for the tournament with the amount set to cover the expenses incurred during the support period which has been scheduled from February 12 to 18.
The support period window has been designated for warm-up matches, media activities, and promotional events. All activities during the support period will be determined in consultation between the ICC and PCB.
The ICC will decide on the warm-up matches in consultation with all teams. Upon approval, each team will be able to play a maximum of two warm-up matches, which will also be held in three cities — Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi.
During his visit to the BDP's office, PCB Chairman Naqvi was given a detailed briefing about the stadiums' upgradation project.
Expressing satisfaction with the venues' designs, the board's head said that it was the first time that the arenas were being upgraded to cater for such a large number of cricket fans.
Highlighting that he was personally supervising this mega project, Naqvi reaffirmed the commitment to complete the challenging task of the stadium's renovation before the Champions Trophy
It is to be noted that the UK-based architectural company, founded 63 years ago, has designed around 200 stadiums on international standards in various countries leading it to secure more than 1,000 design quality awards.
