To keep the lights on during the competition, South Africa’s six SA20 venues must guarantee they have an electricity supply separate from the country’s power company. In 2022, South Africa witnessed its worst power outages, with the supply of electricity being interrupted for more than 200 days. In 2023, it’s anticipated to get worse.
Right now, the nation is in Stage 2 (of eight) of its rotating power cuts, which results in sections going without energy for two and a half hours each day. Stage 6 blackouts were in effect at their worst as recently as December 2022, with electrical outages in some places lasting up to 11 hours per day. The SA20, whose six teams are all owned by IPL franchise owners, is being televised across the world and cannot modify its start times (1.30 pm and 5.30 pm local time), however, Cricket South Africa (CSA) was compelled to change several domestic day-night matches today games. The SA20 stadiums are expected to rent generators to maintain the floodlights, changing room lights, and lights in the grandstand and throughout the ground, including the restrooms, in case of any potential disruptions.
Each team will play five home games, and the cost of renting generators for those games might total up to R2 million (about $117,000 USD) per stadium. Each stadium will receive R850,000 (about US$ 50,000) in hosting fees for each game, with an additional R220,000 (around US$ 13,000) for other expenses. This sum pays for the majority of the grounds’ operational costs, including power.
Due to its magnitude, The Wanderers in Johannesburg is an anomaly. Although the stadium has its own generators and will just have to pay for gasoline, it still costs more than R1 million (about $58,000) to stage a T20 game. The SA20 will cover the shortfall, and from what is known, the stadium will only barely turn a profit throughout the competition. Boland Park in Paarl, a smaller stadium, will do better because its operational costs are cheaper. The four remaining stadiums, SuperSport Park, Kingsmead, Newlands, and St. George’s Park, which are located between Johannesburg and Paarl, are all anticipated to turn a profit from hosting the SA20, however little.
The financial gain for the stadiums is distinct from what the CSA, who are SA20 shareholders, can anticipate in terms of overall profit. Despite earlier predictions that it would take the league five years to break even, the sale of global broadcast rights and the securing of significant sponsors has allowed the SA20 to start making money immediately. It is unknown if the shareholders will decide to disperse the money as it is made or whether they will postpone it for a few more cycles. Insiders anticipate another challenging fiscal year for South African cricket, and it’s possible that the CSA won’t immediately benefit from the competition.
Despite hosting India in the summer, CSA recorded a loss of R198 million (about US$11.65 million) in November. Four scheduled T20Is were left off of the tour, which had a significant negative financial impact on CSA. With only three ODIs against England, a complete trip by the West Indies, and ODIs against the Netherlands on the calendar, this summer is predicted to be significantly lighter. All three of the domestic events as well as the South African men’s team are still unsponsored.
