With the announcement of the Indian Premier League dates and venues, the rumors about the hosting of the seventh edition of the cash-rich event "have come to a halt," according to Sanjay Sharma of the TIMES OF INDIA. The "big question of the day is why South Africa missed the bus this time around, despite successfully hosting the event in 2009," the second year after the inception of the IPL T20. There "may be several reasons but the board and sponsors might have chosen UAE primarily due to similar time zone." Weather "would also be as good/bad as here back home." The atmosphere and pitches of the place "would be similar, hence no franchise could complain about this too." In '09, "empty stands" were witnessed when South Africa played host. If UAE plays host, "in that case migrant working population here is more in comparison to any other parts of the world, we may see more fans occupying the seats during this first leg of the tournament." Organizers, too, hope that a large population of expats in the UAE "would help boost revenue from gate receipts which would compensate them partly'' (TIMES OF INDIA, 3/13). In Mumbai, Indranil Basu wrote the Board of Control for Cricket in India "would have loved to host the IPL in South Africa but the plan was shelved because of the cost factor." According to sources, Cricket South Africa was demanding close to Rs 180 crore ($29M) to host the T20 event, though "it could not be ascertained if the demand was for hosting the entire event or just a part." The "steep demand" put off not only the board, but also IPL team owners "who did not want to spend that kind of money" (TIMES OF INDIA, 3/13).
