11 seats at Chinnaswamy Stadium will always be kept empty:RCB, KSCA to honour stampede victims with memorial plaque

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) have taken a special initiative to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the stampede outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Actually, on June 4, 2025, a stampede occurred outside the stadium during the celebration of RCB’s first IPL trophy win, in which 11 people died, and many others were injured. Now, in memory of this incident, RCB and KSCA have decided to install a memorial plaque in the stadium and keep 11 seats permanently empty. These seats will never be sold in memory of those 11 people. Meanwhile, the memorial plaque will be installed near the stadium’s entry gate, so that this place always remains a symbol of tribute. Additionally, before every IPL match, the names of the victims will be displayed and a minute of silence will be observed, in which both teams will participate. RCB players will be training by wearing 11-number jerseys, before their season opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The players will also be wearing black arm bands in memory of those who lost their lives. Matches were banned in the stadium After the stampede incident, the Justice John Michael D’Cunha Committee had declared this stadium unsafe for large events, due to which matches were banned here. Because of this, the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 matches were also moved from Bengaluru to Navi Mumbai. Also, the domestic T-20 league, Maharaja T-20 Trophy, had to be shifted to Mysuru instead of Bengaluru. However, last week the stadium received approval to host matches again. RCB, KSCA to pay tribute to the deceased Karnataka State Cricket Association president Venkatesh Prasad confirmed this initiative, saying that even remembering this tragic incident is painful, but discussions about building a memorial have been ongoing for quite some time. He added that honouring the memory of the 11 people is essential, rather than reopening old wounds. RCB had won the title last season The Karnataka government has approved the hosting of IPL 2026 matches at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The opening match will be played here on March 28 between hosts Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad. RCB won the IPL title for the first time by defeating Punjab Kings by 6 runs in last season’s final. Schedule for the first 20 IPL matches released
4 days ago, BCCI released the schedule for the first 20 matches of the IPL. Out of these, 2 matches are to be held at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. While releasing the schedule, BCCI had said that IPL matches in Bengaluru would depend on government permission.