For the first time since Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan took over the Kolkata team for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), his representatives came to town and took a good hard look at the Eden Gardens. And accompanying the Red Chillies Entertainment team was BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, who is the key man behind the Board’s ambitious project. The Kolkata team’s likely skipper Sourav Ganguly, too, had come over for the high-profile summit at the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) office.

However, even as Modi later stressed on the need for Eden’s administrators to pull up their socks as far as spectator arrangements are concerned, a huge question mark hangs over how much the CAB will be able sort things out as per plans.

The bidding of players for the eight teams is slated for February 20 at a gala function at Mumbai, where Kolkata’s stake will be spearheaded by not just SRK, Juhi Chawla and Red Chillies representatives, but also by Ganguly himself, now that he is playing a significant role in forming the team.

However, even as Modi & Co went about a recce of Eden Gardens, the stadium’s long pending lease from the Army has become a thorn in the CAB’s flesh.

Eden’s seating arrangements for the general spectators has always been suspect, and it’s no wonder that Modi stressed on the need to improve the facilities for the crowd. “There can be no question about Eden. It’s the Mecca of cricket. But we have in mind certain improvements and recommendations that need to be worked out slowly in a phased manner. Those include the toilets for the spectators and the overall seating arrangements, among other things. Public comfort is the main focus,” the BCCI vice-president said.

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