(Bloomberg) -- The first match of the Men's Cricket World Cup opened to mostly empty stands in India's Narendra Modi stadium, with viewers complaining of poor planning and tardy ticket sales.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the tournament schedule only about a 100 days ago, compared with a year that organizers typically give fans to identify the games they want to follow and plan their travel. While the ticket-booking app shows only a sliver of seats still available, TVs beamed images of sparse crowds in the world's biggest stadium, which can seat more than 130,000.
Representatives for Bigtree Entertainment Pvt, which runs BookMyShow, declined to comment. An email to the BCCI wasn't immediately answered.
The World Cup is an opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the profile of his home state of Gujarat and the stadium, which underwent an abrupt name change two years ago. The first match sees defending champions England meet New Zealand, while long-time foes Pakistan will play the hosts India at the same venue on Oct. 14, and the stadium will also be the location for the final on Nov. 19 and the closing ceremony.
To be sure, temperatures are high in Ahmedabad at about 34C (93F), and the crowds could still gather after sundown.
--With assistance from P R Sanjai.
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