The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has had to secure an overdraft to manage its finances after the cost of renovations for the Champions Trophy 2025 stadiums surged significantly. According to a report in Pakistan’s Dawn, PCB has exceeded its initial budget by five billion Pakistani rupees (approximately USD 20.4 million) for the renovations of Gaddafi Stadium (Lahore), National Bank Stadium (Karachi), and Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium (Rawalpindi) in preparation for the Champions Trophy 2025, which kicks off on 19 February.
Initially, the PCB estimated a renovation cost of 2.3 billion rupees, but the total expenditure has now ballooned to 8 billion rupees.
In a meeting held in December last year, the PCB Board of Governors (BoG) approved an additional 3 to 6 billion rupees in the current fiscal year’s budget to address the “anticipated overall future cash flow requirements.” The board also decided to cancel most of its planned capital expenditures for the fiscal year in order to fund the stadium renovations.
“The CFO [Chief Operating Officer] brought to the attention of the BoG members that as per the revised estimate provided by the PCB Director Infrastructure, the estimated budgetary requirement for the three stadia upgradation projects has increased by Rs5 billion i.e. Rs13 billion vs Rs18 billion,” the minutes of meeting read, reported Dawn.
“In order to fund this additional requirement, the management has taken proactive measures by reducing overall operational expense budget for fiscal year 2024-25 by Rs3 billion. Additionally, most of the other capital expenditures for this fiscal year have been either cancelled or postponed. All future budgeted operational and capital expenditure are being closely monitored to ensure judicious spending. However, based on overall estimated results, there might be a periodic shortfall of approx. Rs 3 billion to Rs 6 billion during the current fiscal year.
“He (CFO) further added that considering the anticipated overall future cash flow requirements, there is a strong possibility that the PCB will require period external cash flow support for the foreseeable future. Consequently, the management has agreed in principle to secure external cash overdraft facilities in the amount of Rs3 billion to Rs6 billion to support any unexpected additional funding requirements. The management is in negotiations with different governmental and private banks to secure the best possible arrangements.
“The BoG unanimously endorsed the increase in the stadium upgrade budget by Rs5 billion. Moreover, the BoG endorsed the CFO’s proposal to secure external cash flow overdraft facilities up to Rs 6 billion to meet possible periodic funding shortfall, if any,” the documents further said.
According to the reports, the PCB plans to increase its revenue following this year’s Pakistan Super League by introducing two additional teams. Furthermore, the 10-year contracts with the current franchises will expire this year, creating an opportunity for renegotiations.
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