Neoteric Hovercraft in 2010 IPL Cricket Final, Mumbai, India

As posted earlier, eight Neoteric Hovercraft participated today in the closing spectacular of the Indian Premier League final match - cricket's grandest extravaganza and one of the six largest sporting events in the world.

The sold-out event, choreographed by the Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rehman, took place before 55,000 spectators and more than a billion worldwide television viewers at the Dr. D.Y. Patil Sports Stadium, a state-of-the-art cricket facility in Navi Mumbai, India. Within a couple of hours, the IPL's YouTube Channel had more than 50 million views.

The closing ceremony was splashed with glitz and glamour, featuring laser light shows, fireworks, a bevy of Bollywood stars ... and Neoteric Hovercraft. Even though performances by Indian superstars were featured, during the event Twitter teemed with praise for the hovercraft ... such as "The hovercraft are the best thing about the IPL closing ceremony!"

From Indiana to India

Neoteric is pleased to have been chosen to provide 8 hovercraft and pilots to perform the closing ceremony in the Indian Premier League (IPL3) 2010 Cricket Championship in Mumbai, India. Neoteric was selected because of the HoverTrek's stylish design and versatility - it's the only craft on the market able to pirouette, go sideways, travel in reverse and hover in place to perform a complicated, choreographed routine. Hovercraft are the only vehicle that will not damage a fragile cricket field.

Here, 6 of the 8 hovercraft await loading into a 40-foot shipping container on March 1 to begin their 6 to 8-week journey to India by train, rail and ship ...

The hovercraft pilots will be Neoteric President Chris Fitzgerald and Neoteric customers Magnus Ivanoff, owner of Ivanoff Hovercraft AB, Sweden; Steve Stafford, a police officer from Bedford, Indiana; Phil Whitney, a Midas Muffler franchisee from Bowling Green, Kentucky; Dave Reyburn, a MasterCAM computer programmer from Goshen, Indiana; and Tom Dienhart, a pet store owner from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Additional pilots and craft are expected to be provided by Neoteric’s Indian dealer in Jammu, Kashmir.

Here, the first of the six 600-pound hovercraft is loaded into the shipping container by Chris Fitzgerald (rear left) and Neoteric employees ...

The IPL Final will take place on April 25 at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Stadium, a state-of-the-art cricket facility in Nerul, Navi Mumbai, India. Considered an engineering marvel, the stadium is four times the area of an American football field and seats 55,000 spectators. The IPL is fourth on the Forbes list of the world’s hottest sporting properties, and the televised Final will be viewed by more than a billion people worldwide.

This could be the first time in history that hovercraft have been involved in a cricket match - stay tuned for updates!

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