Protection of Galle Stadium is on Sports Minister and Cricket Board – Arjuna

Accountability of the protecting the Galle International Stadium falls on the Minister of Sports and the Cricket board, former Test Cricket Captain Arjuna Ranataunga stated, issuing a media release. He stated that the crisis of the Galle Cricket Stadium has arisen due to the weaknesses of the Cricket Management Board and the previous regime and because of having an illegal construction and using former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s name on it. 

“Everyone knows that Galle is a world heritage site. We cannot lose neither the city nor the stadium. We need a proper procedure to protect both the city and the stadium. The Ministry of Sports and the Cricket management Board should establish a procedure to protect the ground”, stated the Minister.

“A similar issue arose regarding the Galle Stadium even when I was the Chairman of the Cricket Board. There was a risk that the Galle city might be removed from the World heritage site list, due to the installation of a lighting system in the Stadium to play matches at night. Accordingly, we halted the procedure. The Galle Stadium is very important to Sri Lankan Cricket. This is the ground that the Sri Lankan team most easily wins test matches. This is the ground that Sri Lanka won the recent test match against South Africa. Therefore, we should be open minded when we look at resolving this issue”, Minister Ranatunga added.

“As Galle is a World Heritage Site, it is prohibited to construct any buildings in the area. But during the previous regime, they did an illegal construction in this area and named it as the ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa Pavilion’. They did not remove the construction because of that name. In my opinion, If we remove this illegal construction, we would be able to save the ground. Galle Stadium doesn’t require large permanent pavilions. I don’t know whether there is a hidden force to stopping us from to reaching a better solution. This ground is great for Sri Lankan skippers. Galle ground and Moratuwa Stadiums are the best grounds for the Sri Lankan team to play. No one in the Cricket Management have the brains needed to establish a proper procedure to save the Stadium”, Minister Ranatunga added further.