The Karnataka government just cleared M Chinnaswamy Stadium to host cricket again. Royal Challengers Bengaluru still won’t say if they’re coming home.
Seven months after a stampede killed 11 fans outside the stadium during IPL championship celebrations, state officials granted conditional permission on January 16 for the iconic venue to resume hosting matches. But RCB’s corporate office remains conspicuously quiet about whether they’ll actually play there when IPL 2026 kicks off March 26.
“The ball is in RCB’s court now,” Karnataka State Cricket Association president Venkatesh Prasad told reporters Tuesday. “We’ve done everything asked of us. The government trusts us. BCCI trusts us. We’re waiting for RCB to trust us too.”
That trust evaporated on June 4, 2025.
Thousands of fans had gathered outside Chinnaswamy to celebrate RCB’s first-ever IPL title victory. What should have been Bengaluru’s greatest cricketing moment turned into tragedy when crowd surges near the stadium’s narrow exit gates crushed 11 people to death. Dozens more were hospitalized.
The stadium went dark immediately. No cricket. No events. Nothing.
Since then, Chinnaswamy has lost hosting rights for the Maharaja T20 Trophy, multiple Vijay Hazare Trophy fixtures, and most painfully, the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 final that had been scheduled for December. Those matches went to other venues while contractors began tearing apart the 40,000-capacity stadium to fix what went wrong.
The Justice Michael D’Cunha Committee didn’t mince words in its investigation report. Gates were too narrow. Entry and exit paths overlapped dangerously. Ambulance access was inadequate. Crowd management protocols existed on paper but collapsed under pressure.
KSCA submitted a compliance roadmap in early January, promising to address every single recommendation. Wider gates. Separate entry and exit routes. Better use of the adjacent National Cricket Academy concourse for overflow crowds. A complete ban on traffic along Queen’s Road during matches. New ramps for accessibility. Emergency vehicle lanes that actually work.
The government reviewed the plans and gave preliminary approval. Work started immediately.
“We’re 45 days into a renovation timeline that ends February 28,” said KSCA COO Raghu Menon. “Every contractor has been told this is non-negotiable. We finish on time or we don’t open at all.”
The estimated cost has climbed past INR 8 crore, with KSCA footing most of the bill. The association had no choice—Chinnaswamy is its primary revenue source, and every month without matches drains reserves.
But RCB’s silence speaks volumes about how complicated this situation has become.
Sources close to the franchise describe a legal and operational quagmire. Who’s liable if something goes wrong again? KSCA owns the stadium, but BCCI runs the IPL, the Karnataka government sets safety standards, and RCB bears the reputational risk if fans wearing their jerseys get hurt at “their” home ground.
RCB COO Rajesh Menon acknowledged the complexity in a brief statement last week. “There are still grey areas we need to address,” he said. “Safety isn’t just about physical infrastructure. It’s about clearly defined responsibilities when multiple stakeholders are involved.”
Translation: we’re not committing until we know exactly who gets blamed if this happens again.
The franchise has proposed installing AI-powered crowd monitoring cameras throughout the venue at an additional cost of INR 4.5 crore. The system would use facial recognition and movement tracking to detect dangerous crowd buildups in real time, alerting security teams before situations escalate.
KSCA hasn’t rejected the idea, but questions remain about who pays for it and who controls the technology. Those negotiations are happening through the IPL governing council, with no resolution yet.
Meanwhile, RCB has quietly explored backup options. Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium could work. So could Raipur or Indore. But none offers what Bengaluru provides: a passionate home crowd, established corporate hospitality infrastructure, and the kind of atmosphere that makes Chinnaswamy one of the IPL’s most intimidating venues for visiting teams.
The corporate box issue particularly complicates any relocation. RCB has sold premium hospitality packages for the 2026 season based on Chinnaswamy access. Moving to another city would require renegotiating contracts, potentially refunding millions, and disappointing sponsors who specifically bought into the Bengaluru market.
“People underestimate how much revenue comes from those boxes,” said a sports business consultant who works with IPL franchises but wasn’t authorized to speak on the record. “We’re talking 30-40% of match-day income for some teams. You can’t just pick up and move that to Raipur.”
RCB’s dilemma mirrors what happened when Mumbai Indians briefly considered abandoning Wankhede Stadium over similar safety concerns years ago. That standoff resolved through intense negotiations and infrastructure investments. But MI never dealt with actual fatalities.
The emotional weight of June 4 hangs over everything. Social media reactions to KSCA’s announcement ranged from cautious optimism to outright anger. Instagram posts from Sportstar about the government approval drew thousands of comments, many from people who knew victims or witnessed the stampede.
“How can they say it’s safe now?” wrote one user whose cousin died in the crush. “Same stadium. Same owners. Different gates doesn’t bring back lives.”
Others defended the renovations. “Every stadium in India has crowd issues,” another comment read. “At least KSCA is actually fixing things instead of pretending nothing happened.”
Prasad’s “ball in RCB’s court” quote went viral on Twitter, sparking debates about whether the franchise was being overly cautious or appropriately responsible. Some fans accused RCB of abandoning Bengaluru when the city needed support most. Others praised the team for not rushing back to an unsafe venue.
The March 26 deadline looms large. IPL 2026 schedules are being finalized now, and BCCI needs RCB’s venue commitment within 10 days to lock in logistics. TV broadcast planning, ticket sales, hotel bookings for teams—everything hinges on knowing where RCB will play its seven home league matches.
If RCB pulls out of Chinnaswamy, it wouldn’t be unprecedented. Delhi Capitals have bounced between Delhi and alternative venues multiple times over political and pitch issues. But no IPL team has ever abandoned its primary home because fans died there.
The stadium itself has hosted IPL cricket since the league’s inception in 2008. Some of the competition’s most memorable moments happened there: Chris Gayle’s record centuries, AB de Villiers’ impossible chases, Virat Kohli’s emotional hundreds in front of home crowds. Chinnaswamy’s short boundaries and batting-friendly pitch have defined RCB’s identity as an aggressive, high-scoring team.
Walking away means abandoning 18 years of history and connection.
BCCI officials have stayed diplomatically neutral, publicly supporting whatever decision RCB makes while privately hoping the franchise commits to Bengaluru. The board values stability—having teams play in their designated home cities rather than hopscotching around the country based on temporary concerns.
The T20 World Cup 2026 snub adds another layer of complication. ICC and BCCI decided months ago that Chinnaswamy wouldn’t host any World Cup matches in February and March, even before the government’s conditional approval. That tournament will use other Indian venues, making Chinnaswamy’s return dependent entirely on IPL and domestic cricket.
KSCA insists the February 28 deadline is realistic. Contractors are working double shifts. Gate widening is 60% complete. The Queen’s Road traffic ban already has government approval and will be enforced starting March 1. New ambulance access routes are being painted and tested.
“Everything the D’Cunha Committee asked for will be done,” Menon said. “Not most things. Not the important things. Everything.”
But meeting technical requirements and rebuilding trust are different challenges entirely.
RCB faces an impossible choice. Return too soon and risk another catastrophe that could define the franchise forever. Wait too long and alienate the Bengaluru fanbase that’s supported them through 17 titleless seasons before finally celebrating a championship.
The franchise has committed to making a final decision within 10 days, according to sources familiar with the discussions. That timeline would allow BCCI to adjust schedules if RCB opts for alternative venues, though league officials hope it doesn’t come to that.
For now, Chinnaswamy Stadium sits in renovation limbo. Workers are installing wider gates for a team that might not come home. The government has approved matches that might not happen. And KSCA is projecting confidence while bracing for rejection.
Prasad ended his Tuesday press conference with a direct appeal. “This is RCB’s home,” he said. “This is where they won their first title. This is where their fans are. We’ve fixed what was broken. We’re ready when they are.”
The question is whether RCB believes him.
