G Town Ground to host two-day extravaganza starting today
By Manpreet Singh Bhatia
Jamshedpur, May 18: IPL fans in Jamshedpur looking for stadium-like experience of watching the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches can head to G Town Ground in Bistupur as the BCCI for the second year in a row is bringing its Fan Park initiative to Steel city on 19th and 20th of May.
This weekend four IPL matches will be screened live for the cricket-crazy fans of the city on a 32x18ft giant screen at the Vivo IPL Fan Park.
BCCI cricket operations Amit Siddheshwar said this is the second year in a row that IPL Fan Park is being held at Jamshedpur after the successful first outing in 2017 where 12 thousand people turned up on each day.
‘Dhanbad created a record with the biggest public appearance (25000 people) in Indian at the first fan park in the city held last week. We hope the same is repeated in Jamshedpur this weekend’, said Siddheshwar addressing a press conference at G. Town Club on the eve of the event.
He informed that entry will be free and furthermore, there will be music and multiple stalls for merchandise, food, beverages and other activations by IPL’s official sponsors, which will add to the electric atmosphere. Kids Zone, face painting, games stall will be put up and a lucky draw will be held to select the lucky fan of the day who will receive a Vivo smart phone as gift.
Anchor will be present to control the proceedings as they are directly in contact with the match venue.
Asked what will be different this year at the fan park, Amit Siddheshwar, said, several activities have been added, the look and the field and the theme will be different along with the metallic lights, and there will also be interactive stalls for the cricket enthusiasts.
‘The primary objective is to bring families together so that they can have a stadium like experience in their own city, hence there are special arrangements made to make it an event that women and children friendly. The entry for the event is free but on a first come first serve basis because of limited number of seats’, added the BCCI official.
He went on to say that last season saw a massive turnout of 3,00,000 cricket enthusiasts who experienced the IPL live at the Fan Parks. This year will the number has crossed with a week more to go.
Along with Jamshedpur, the 7th week of IPL Fan Park will be held in Mathura, Kolhapur and Guntur.
It�s going to be a double header on both days with Rajasthan Royals taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore at 4 PM followed by Sunrisers Hyderabad versus Kolkata Knight Riders at 8 PM on May 19.
On May 20 Delhi Daredevils will be locking horns with Mumbai Indians at 4 PM and Chennai Super Kings will be up against Kings XI Punjab 8:00 PM.
Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) official Dr Dinesh Upadhyaya, said, BCCI through the fan park wants to create a virtual reality atmosphere and make people enjoy like a fun park.
He informed that the entry for the double header game starts at 3 PM and 5 PM for the second match. Each person entering the event will be given an access band (a wrist band) that only allows the person to attend the Fan Park at that venue.
‘We have hired a security agency that will look after the safety while ambulance, fire fighters and first aid boxes will be in place’, Dr Upadhyaya noted.
The initiative was started in 2015 in 15 different cities as it aimed to bring the IPL to newer audience. This year fan park is spread across 19 states covering 36 cities, with an aim to reach out to fans and cover regions where there are limited options of entertainment.
An amazing initiative to promote IPL, the fan park promises to be an overwhelming experience for the cricket fans in Jamshedpur.