The Mumbai Cricket Association, headed by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, requested the Maharashtra government to allot it a plot of land for building a bigger stadium in the southern part of the metropolis.
The request was conveyed to chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who was present at the inauguration of the MCA's state-of-the-art indoor cricket facility at its Bandra-Kurla complex on Friday evening.
Pawar said though Mumbai had been allotted the final of the 2011 World Cup, to be jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the Wankhede Stadium, in its present state, would not be able to get the International Cricket Council nod.
"It's difficult to see the ICC accepting the Wankhede Stadium under its present condition to host the World Cup final," Pawar said.
"Wankhede has a capacity of around 34,000 out of which only 8,000 tickets are available for the general public and the rest are booked for the clubs in Mumbai. Therefore we are looking to build a world class stadium which will have a capacity of around 80,000 to 1,00,000," Pawar added.
The Wankhede Stadium, however, is set to undergo renovation for the 2011 World Cup.
Deshmukh said the government would consider the request.
