IPL final Venue shifted

The Indian Premier League organizers have shifted the June 1 final venue. Originally the IPL T20 final was to be held at the Wankhede Stadium in South Mumbai. The new venue is  DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

"The IPL t20 final has been shifted and will now be held at DY Patil Stadium. One of the main reasons is that the TV production crew is not happy with the makeshift arrangements at the Wankhede Stadium which is under repairs  and there is lack of space for keeping their  equipment," the sources told PTI.

The arrangements for the TV production crew includes temporary location of their equipment adjacent to the makeshift restaurant located just behind the Garware Stadium stands, the sources added. Another reason is that the DY Patil Stadium can hold 55,000 spectators as compared to 40,000 by Wankhede, which increases the revenue of the IPL home team owners -- Reliance Industries.

But the decision has not yet been communicated to the franchise owners of Mumbai Indians, the home team, by the IPL authorities who make the final call though the team owners have a say on the matter, said a spokesperson of the franchisee.

"There have been talks about one of the semifinals or the final being shifted to DY Patil, but we have not heard anything officially on the matter," he said.

The shift of the venue for the summit contest of the 44-day twenty20 tournament is the second alteration made by the IPL authorities after the announcement of the schedule of the tournament as two league stage matches were shifted from DY Patil Stadium to Wankhede.

The May 14 and 16 home ties of Mumbai Indians, against Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders and slated to be held in the Navi Mumbai venue, are to be held at the Wankhede Stadium instead of the originally scheduled DY Patil Stadium.

Reasons given when these matches were shifted included the reluctance of the IPL teams to travel long distances from their hotel in Central Mumbai to DY Patil Stadium and the lack of proper practice wickets at the Navi Mumbai venue.