"Attracting Big Crowds To New IPL Venue Was A Difficult Task: Lucknow Super Giants CEO
Lucknow Super Giants gave fans a treat as Ekana Cricket Stadium hosted IPL matches for the first time.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the absence of skipper KL Rahul failed to qualify for the finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 this year. The side lost the Eliminator match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium against Mumbai Indians. However, the recently concluded IPL season was not as bad as it could have been for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) when the side lost skipper KL Rahul owing to an injury. Rahul had suffered a thigh injury when the IPL 2023 season was underway and was eventually ruled out of the tournament.
But Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were unaffected by Rahul's injury as the side finished third in the points table.
The RPSG Group-owned Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) had also finished 3rd in the points table during the IPL 2022 season. In the 2023 season, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) gave fans a treat as Ekana Cricket Stadium hosted IPL matches for the first time.
Col Vinod Bisht, MD and CEO, of RPSG Sports Pvt Ltd said attracting big crowds to a new IPL venue was a challenge for them but Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) managed to do the needful.
"Forming an emotional connect with the cricket fans in Uttar Pradesh was critical for us and therefore we were thrilled to see that our initiatives paid rich dividends," Vinod Bisht said in a statement.
"Attracting big crowds to a new IPL venue was always going to be a difficult task, but our team emerged victorious in challenging circumstances," he added.
With the IPL going back to the home-and-away format this year, RPSG Group-owned team Lucknow Super Giants, led by Sanjiv Goenka, grabbed their opportunity of engaging with their home fans for the first time.
The season was kicked off with a glitzy jersey launch event on March 8 in the presence of BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, key players like KL Rahul and Krunal Pandya among others, and was streamed live in eight major cities across Uttar Pradesh.
In addition, the Lucknow Super Giants conducted Jashn-e-LSG - an open bus roadshow with the team from Rumi Darwaza to Ambedkar Park in the city of Nawabs. The roadshow was followed by the world's first-ever cricket-themed drone show, with spellbinding still and motion pictures captured and shared across social media.
The Lucknow Super Giants' initiatives resulted in around three lakh passionate fans thronging the stadium throughout the season, at an average of an almost full-capacity (50,000) crowd for Lucknow's first-ever season at home.
Furthermore, LSG and Lucknow Metro worked together to provide special late-night trains and feeder buses to make it easier for fans to head back home after matches. A fleet of E-Rickshaw shuttle rides was also organized at the stadium.
After a great start in IPL 2023, the Lucknow Super Giants are keen to take their off-field game to an even higher level and grow their fan base across India and the world, in the years to come.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lucknow Super Giants
KL Rahul