Grand opening ceremony planned for ISL

Image
Press Trust of India Kolkata
Last Updated : Oct 07 2014 | 12:45 PM IST
From Amitabh Bachchan to Sachin Tendulkar to Mukesh and Nita Ambani, the who's who of Bollywood, cricket and business world will attend the high profile opening ceremony of the Indian Super League at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan on October 12.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to inaugurate the tournament that will conclude on December 20, while Bollywood heartthrob Priyanka Chopra will set the stage on fire along with Varun Dhawan in a 45-minute opening ceremony that would begin at 5pm.
As the league is co-promoted by IMG Reliance and Star India and has some high-profile owners and brand ambassadors from both Bollywood and cricketing world, the opening ceremony guarantees to be a fun-filled affair.
Being the co-owners of their respective teams, Abhishek Bachchan (Chennai), Ranbir Kapoor (Mumbai), Salman Khan (Pune), John Abraham (Guwahati), Varun Dhawan (brand ambassador Goa), Sachin Tendulkar (Kochi), M S Dhoni (Chennai), Virat Kohli (Goa) and city's favourite son Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata) are also set to promote football.
"Tell me who won't be there? We will have Amitabh, Abhishek, Salman, Ranbir then Sachin, Dhoni and the king of kings Sourav Ganguly. The stars will descend on Kolkata. The honourable CM will inaugurate the tournament. It will be an out of the world experience," Atletico de Kolkata co-owner Utsav Parekh told PTI.
"Priyanka along with Varun will be the star performers and will be joined by more than 500 co-performers."
There will also be a host of top notch industrialists including Mukesh and Nita Ambani of the Reliance Industries Limited, Munjals (Hero Motocorp), Dani (Asian Paints) and Salgaocars who will grace the occasion along with Praful Patel, president of the All India Football Federation that is supporting the tournament.
Selling tickets at a throw-away price of Rs 200, the city franchise is confident of a sell-out crowd at the gigantic 120,000 capacity stadium in Salt Lake.
"It's very difficult to offer such quality football at such a price but we have managed to bring it down and offer the spectators wholesome entertainment. We are confident of pulling it off," the investment banker said adding that they have already sold 5700 tickets online.
Tickets are priced at Rs 200, 300 and 400 for general categories while for bucket seats one will have to sell out Rs 500, 750 and 1250 and Rs 2500 for a hospitality seat.
If one buys tickets for the first six matches the seventh match will be offered free.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Oct 07 2014 | 12:45 PM IST

Next Story