KOCHI: The standoff between Kerala Blasters FC and the GCDA over rent has been resolved, clearing the decks for the club’s continued use of the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kaloor.
The agreement was reached following a meeting between GCDA and the Blasters on Thursday. A formal pact incorporating the revised terms will be signed before the team’s next home match on Saturday.
As per the understanding arrived at during the talks, the Blasters will pay Rs 3 lakh per match as rent. The club has also agreed to remit Rs 28 lakh as caution deposit to the authority.
The settlement on rent represents a middle ground between earlier positions by both parties that had triggered weeks of uncertainty.
The Rs 3 lakh figure is higher than the roughly Rs 2 lakh per match relief package indicated by GCDA chairperson K Chandran Pillai when the club was exploring a shift to Kozhikode.
However, it is lower than the Rs 4.2 lakh per match later backed by sections of the GCDA executive council.
The dispute had intensified in the run-up to the Blasters’ home fixtures in the Indian Super League, with internal divisions emerging within the authority over the steep rent reduction.
Some council members argued that lowering the rent drastically would result in financial losses for GCDA, especially as the club stands to earn from ticket sales and advertisement revenues.
Differences briefly spilled into the open when GCDA officials halted certain club operations at the stadium just days before the Blasters’ first home clash against Mumbai City FC on February 22.
There were also disagreements over pending maintenance charges, with GCDA stating that Rs 7 lakh was due from last year, of which Rs 5 lakh had been paid.
The authority maintained it could adjust any outstanding amount against the caution deposit, while the Blasters contended that Rs 5 lakh was paid as rent.