On Saturday the 6th of March 2010, on eve of the IPL 2010 season starting within a week’s time, Royal Challengers Bangalore became the 1st IPL team to take its Kings club members on an exclusive tour of the home stadium. A crowd of over 70 people were taken across the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore giving them an insider look of the stadium including the facilities for the players and the spectators alike. Read more to find out how wonderful the stadium tour was…

All the fans present were given RCB wrist bands and RCB stadium flags
as soon as they entered the stadium. A team of 3 took the members
around the stadium showing them the player’s dressing room, pavilion,
ground, pitch, National Cricket Academy, indoor air-conditioned nets
among others.

As the fans were waiting for their favorite RCB
players, they got a wonderful chance to interact with legendary Indian
cricketers Sandeep Patil and Syed Kirmani who were as a part of the
National Cricket Academy.

Then walked in some popular RCB
players present there for practice matches like Akhil, Dillon du Preez
and Sri Ram; along with the enigmatic coach Ray Jennings. Fans got a
very good chance to interact with all of these players & the coach;
and also take their autographs and photographs with them.

Fans were also given an opportunity to buy pavillion tickets at 15% discount than the online/ticket counter prices as they were privileged fans. They were also told that for matches from 4pm-8pm, catering will continue for the next match too which will be shown on a giant screen in the stadium!

Some
of the fans like Sendil and Shrikanth who attended said, “The over all
experience was good, especially since this is the first time we have
had such a tour of the stadium before. Having an agenda beforehand
could have been helpful. A short blueprint or map of the stadium,
especially the area we covered could have helped us. I wish we could
have met Anil Kumble”

Vishwanag, Anup, Chethan and Somashekhar
said,” Over all experience was good. We know the stadium from inside
out, but the tour inside was a new thing.”

Anurag Saboo with his
son Anshuman liked the stadium tour very much and said that he is
looking forward to Anshuman being a part of the RCB team sometime in
the future!

(Thanks a lot to @santoshp and @sidh256 for the wonderful pictures too..)

(fans taking pictures of the Player’s dressing room in Bangalore)

(more fans taking pictures of the Player’s dressing room in Bangalore)

(Fans checking out the view from the pavillion at the Chinnaswamy stadium)

(Fans on a tour of the Chinnaswamy stadium ground)

(Tour of the National Cricket Academy inside Chinnaswamy Stadium)

(Both the young and the old fans were there!)

(Fan poses with Coach Ray Jennings)

(Sri Ram, Dillon du preez, Akhil and Jennings sign autographs for fans)

(Everyone had a gala time!)

(Fans eagerly take autographs and pictures with Syed Kirmani)

(Sandeep Patil obliging young fans with autographs and photographs)