KOCHI: Kerala Tourism on Thursday postponed the franchisee auction of the inaugural Champions Boat League (CBL) so as to ensure more participation. The fresh date for the franchisee auction has not yet been announced.
As per the original plan, auction was scheduled on July 29. It was postponed to Thursday. Tourism Secretary Rani George said fresh auctions will be organised later. However, all the CBL-format boat races would be held from August 10 to November 1.
Till then, all the teams would be owned by the Tourism Department and that all the CBL boat races would be conducted strictly as per the IPL format. “We are overwhelmed by the response of boat clubs and boat owners. The department strongly feels that this is a sport for the people and by the people,” she said
It was decided to postpone Thursday’s bid after many prospective franchisees failed to turn up. So far 11 prospective franchisees have taken the bid document.
Tourism Director P Bala Kiran said the department would revisit the financial model of CBL and present it before the franchisees. He said all arrangements have been put in place for the spectacular three-month-long CBL, which will witness nine teams participating in 12 races across 12 locations on 12 weekends. It starts with the Nehru Trophy Boat Race on August 10 and ends with the President’s Trophy Boat Race in Kollam on November 1.CBL will be televised live on a sports channel.