Reports : U Mumba considering a move out of Mumbai for next season of Pro Kabaddi

Reports : U Mumba considering a move out of Mumbai for next season of Pro Kabaddi

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According to reports, the U-Mumba franchise is considering moving its base out of Mumbai because of lack of affordable venues in the city. CEO Supratik Sen stated that it will be unfortunate if Mumbai loses out on Pro Kabaddi matches but there seems to be just no economically viable option.

Pro Kabaddi fans in Mumbai stand a chance to miss out on live matches in their city during the sixth season of the franchise-based league, starting in October. Over the last five seasons, U-Mumba, which has been owned by entrepreneur and Hindi film producer Ronnie Screwvala’s Unilazer Ventures, have played their home matches at the National Sports Club of India’s indoor arena called Dome in Worli. However, according to reports from Scroll.in, the franchise has been looking for other options for the sixth season because of the spiralling cost of renting the facility.

According to reports, the NSCI is charging Rs 25 lakh per day to use Dome. NSCI reserves Dome for sports events for 50 days in a calendar year, for which it charges a special rate of Rs 1 lakh per day, but U-Mumba has never been able to get those dates so far in the last four years since Pro Kabaddi started. U-Mumba would require to book Dome for 10 days, which includes three days for setting up, six days of matches, and one day for dismantling. At a rate of Rs 25 lakh per day, the franchise would have to cough up Rs 2.5 crore to host matches for the upcoming season. Unilazer Sports CEO Supratik Sen confirmed that the franchise was looking to move out of NSCI.

“The NSCI is available for the dates of Pro Kabaddi season 6 but at an unviable cost. We are also in discussions with the Andheri Sports Complex, but it does not have a large enough indoor facility to host Pro Kabaddi matches,” Sen told Scroll.

One of the facilities U-Mumba has been considering is Nasik’s Meenatai Thakre Indoor Stadium, which has a capacity of 2,000 with the option of adding another 500-odd seats. This would be a drop from Dome’s capacity of around 3,500, but the Nasik facility would be available for around Rs 15,000 per day, which means the franchise could end up saving Rs 2.48 crore across 10 days compared to NSCI.

U-Mumba haven’t completely given up hope of finding an affordable venue in Mumbai, but as per the proceedings, the city could be deprived of Pro Kabaddi matches this season.

“It will be unfortunate if Mumbai loses out on Pro Kabaddi matches but the fact is that there seems to be just no economically viable option,” said Sen.

If Pro Kabaddi does move out of Mumbai, it won’t be the first time that a sports event has been priced out of India’s financial capital. The Premier Badminton League and the Pro Wrestling League have also previously moved out of the city because of the pricing matters.

The first season of Ultimate Table Tennis last year was hosted at NSCI, but the league did not return to Mumbai for the second season, although it was unclear whether the reason was the price. The sixth season of Pro Kabaddi would commence on October 19.

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