TU Cricket Ground Upgraded for NPL Season 3

CAN has finished upgrading the TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur for the third Nepal Premier League season, adding around 2,000 seats, a covered stand, an LED scoreboard and a media centre, according to a Kathmandu Post report.

TU Ground Upgrades for Season 3

The Cricket Association of Nepal has upgraded the TU International Cricket Ground to improve facilities for players, spectators and broadcasters ahead of the third NPL season, The Kathmandu Post reported on Friday. The changes include around 2,000 additional seats, a covered stand and new seating across the venue.

The ground has also been equipped with an LED scoreboard and digital perimeter boards, player dugouts with private dining facilities, a media centre, a dedicated family zone and improved toilet facilities. The work is reported to be complete and the facilities ready for use, three days before the season opens.

The upgrades are intended to improve the match-day experience and to give international broadcasters and sponsors better facilities, the report says. All 32 matches of the season will be played at Kirtipur, starting with Lumbini Lions against Sudurpaschim Royals on October 26.

A Better Match-Day Experience for Fans

The headline change for supporters is capacity and comfort. Roughly 2,000 new seats and a covered stand mean more fans get a proper seat with shelter — a step up from the grass banking and temporary stands of earlier editions. The dedicated family zone is a new idea for the venue, aimed at making the ground welcoming for supporters bringing children.

Improved toilet facilities address one of the most frequent complaints from previous seasons. Preparations coverage earlier this month had already flagged toilets, dust and crowd movement as problems CAN was working to fix; the completed list suggests the association has followed through.

Fans heading to Kirtipur should sort their entry in advance. CAN has fixed league-match tickets at Rs 500 for general admission and Rs 1,000 for premium seats — full details in our NPL Season 3 ticket prices report — and the ticketing guide covers booking through eSewa, gate information and the match-day checklist.

Broadcast and Media Facilities

The media centre, LED scoreboard and digital perimeter boards are aimed squarely at the television product. Season 3 has a new broadcast setup: Himalaya Sports carries the matches on television in Nepal, while NetTV holds the worldwide streaming rights, a package awarded for Rs 18.04 crore in CAN's Rs 33.53 crore rights tender. The full breakdown is in our media and ticketing rights report.

A proper media centre matters because the league is courting a bigger international audience this season. With official List A T20 status from the ICC and a line-up of overseas stars, the matches will be watched — and recorded — well beyond Nepal, and the production facilities at Kirtipur have to match that ambition.

Supporters who cannot get to the ground can follow every game through the official channels; the streaming guide has the platforms and prices for watching Season 3 live online.

DRS Setup and Revised Match Timings

The ground will also host a first for Nepali cricket: the Decision Review System. The Kathmandu Post reports that introducing DRS will cost around Rs 15 million to Rs 20 million, with CAN and the eight franchises sharing the expense, and that organisers have added 30 minutes to the initial schedule to absorb review stoppages. Each team will be allowed two unsuccessful reviews per innings. Our DRS report has the background on how the system will work.

Match timings have been revised for the new season as well: double-headers begin at 12:30 PM and evening matches — several of them under the Kirtipur floodlights — start at 5 PM, as covered in our timings update. The combination of night cricket, DRS and a refurbished ground makes this the most technically advanced NPL yet.

Conclusion

The TU International Cricket Ground has come a long way from the venue that hosted the first NPL: floodlights arrived in Season 2, and now 2,000 new seats, a covered stand, an LED scoreboard, digital boards, a media centre and a family zone complete the transformation. The Kathmandu Post's report that the work is finished and ready gives CAN a clean runway into the season.

The real test begins on October 26, when Lumbini Lions and Sudurpaschim Royals walk out for the opener. Follow every match of the season on the fixture schedule and the live scores page, with the points table tracking the race to the November 21 final.