Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is deeming to change the name of Lahore’s iconic Gaddafi Stadium 50 years after it was named after Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi.
Chairman PCB Ramiz Raja has denied the reports that the decision has been taken due to political reasons. He says the board was already in negotiations with several sponsors for the change of the name of the stadium.
The winning sponsor would have the right to change the name of the stadium. Previous attempts to change the name of the stadium were done for political reasons. An attempt was made in 2013 following the death of the Libyan president. Punjab Olympic Association had stressed the provincial chief minister to change the name of the stadium due to increasing negative public sentiments against the Libyan leader.
PCB are in negotiations with several sponsors to rename a number of stadiums including the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore and the National Stadium Karachi #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) March 15, 2022
Read more: PCB might move Rawalpindi limited over match to Lahore
Not politcal but financial reasons for changing name
However, this time it is for financial reasons. Not only the name of the Gaddafi stadium will be changed but it is expected that the name of the National Stadium will also be changed the board finds the sponsor.
“We acquired the services of YouGov to estimate the brand worth of our stadia, and how much sponsorship deals would be worth,” Ramiz said. “That’s not just true of the Gaddafi Stadium, but also the NSK and others. We’ve been working towards this for a while, and the response from sponsors has been satisfactory. Once we finalize a deal [for Lahore], the name Gaddafi will go completely, with a sponsor’s name replacing it.”
The stadium was built in 1959 and was named Lahore Stadium. In 1974, the stadium was named after the Libyan President after he spoke in favor of Pakistan acquiring nuclear weapons at the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) in Lahore. Then, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto changed the name of the stadium. Pressure had mounted on the government of Pakistan to rename the stadium following the downfall of Libyan President Gaddafi.