Chinnaswamy Stadium: Annual Rent Unchanged for Over 50 Years

The annual ground rent to the State Government for Chinnaswamy Stadium has remained the same for over fifty years. The Stadium, one of the three parcels of land, was leased in 1969 for 99 years at a rent of INR 19,000, which remains unchanged. This rent still applies to the 16.5-acre Stadium located in the heart of the city of Bengaluru.

In an audit report for the year 2004-05, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) pegged the revenue foregone on account of leasing at lower rent at INR 202.78 crore.[1] The report noted that no grounds had been made for subsidising the rent, and the lease terms did not provide for any enhancement. It was estimated that the annual lease rent should have been INR 41.96 crore from April 1999 and INR 37.76 crore from August 2002 (for the three pieces of land). The lease rent was computed at seven per cent of the capital cost, which was determined on the basis of the estimated guideline market value.

Previous attempts to revise the rent have been unsuccessful. Chief Secretary SV Ranganath’s 2011 proposal to set the rent at 1% of the Karnataka State Cricket Association’s income or the Public Works Department’s suggestion of INR 6.55 crore per month did not materialise.

In contrast, the Mumbai Cricket Association reportedly paid INR 1.52 crore in annual rent for the Wankhede Stadium for the year 2022.

[1] https://cag.gov.in/uploads/old_reports/state/Karnataka/2005/Revenue/rev_chap_6.pdf