Narendra Modi Stadium: A Sporting Marvel in Ahmedabad

The world’s largest cricket stadium in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad has been renamed as Narendra Modi Stadium. While it’s been called the ‘Motera Stadium’ or the ‘Sardar Vallabhbhai Stadium’ for several years, now it will henceforth be known as the Narendra Modi Stadium. That, however, does not mean that Patel has been removed. The stadium is located in what is now named the ‘Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave’. The newly refreshed stadium was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, and BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.

History of Narendra Modi Stadium

The Gujarat Cricket Association-owned Sardar Patel Stadium, more popularly known as Motera Stadium, was one of the premier cricket grounds in India. The stadium was constructed in 1983 and underwent its first renovation in 2006. It became a regular venue for international matches in the city. In 2015, the stadium was closed, demolished, and then completely renovated, with an estimated cost of ₹800 crores. The old stadium, with a 49,000 seating capacity, was known as the Sardar Patel cricket stadium, where many historically important matches were played. In 1982, the government of Gujarat donated a 100-acre stretch of land on the banks of the Sabarmati River to build this stadium.

Features of Narendra Modi Stadium

The stadium is spread over 63 acres of land and has a seating capacity for 132,000 spectators, surpassing the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which now has the largest capacity of 90,000 spectators. This cricket stadium was designed by Populous, and Larsen & Toubro was the principal contractor for designing and rebuilding it. The total stadium area is 2,38,714 square meters, with a metro line at every point. Narendra Modi stadium is the only stadium in the world with 11 center pitches on the main ground. It also has 6 indoor pitches with bowling machines and 4 dressing rooms. A built-in clubhouse with 55 rooms further adds to the stadium’s glory. The clubhouse features both indoor and outdoor games, restaurants, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a gym, and a 3D projector theatre. Instead of high mast floodlights, the field of play has LED lights fixed along the perimeter of the roof, providing shadow-less light, a first-of-its-kind arrangement in India. The earthquake-proof structure is connected to the metro station. The ground claims to have a drainage system that will take just 30 minutes from the time it stops raining to drain out the water.

Sports City of India

Home Minister Amit Shah said Ahmedabad will be known as the ‘Sports City of India’ after President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the magnificent Narendra Modi cricket stadium on 24th Feb 2021. The home minister revealed that the government is planning to build a total of 20 stadiums around the city, including a world-class football and hockey arena. The president also performed the groundbreaking ceremony of a sports complex in the stadium, to be named Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave for disciplines like football, hockey, basketball, kabaddi, boxing, and lawn tennis, among others. Praising the PM for his vision and farsightedness as Gujarat’s chief minister for creating sports infrastructure and launching schemes like ‘Khelo Gujarat,’ Shah said, “Such Sports facilities are not available in a single city in India at present. Ahmedabad, which Modi Ji transformed into India’s heritage city, is now ready to become the country’s sports city.”

Memorable Moments

• Sunil Gavaskar completed 10,000 runs in test cricket in 1986-87 against Pakistan.
• Kapil Dev, who had taken 9 wickets in the first match on this ground, took his 432nd wicket in test cricket to pass Sir Richard Hadlee’s record in 1994.
• In October 1999, Sachin Tendulkar scored his first test match double-hundred in a match against New Zealand.
• Sachin Tendulkar completed his 20 years of international cricket in the stadium on 16 November 2009 against Sri Lanka. During the same game, Sachin Tendulkar reached a landmark of 30,000 runs in international cricket.
• He also became the first-ever cricketer to score 18,000 runs in one-day cricket in a match against Australia during the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
• The stadium was the venue for the Namaste Trump event and hosted US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 February 2020.
• The first day-night test match was played on 24 February 2021 between India and England.

Conclusion

In the coming years, the vision of the government and the initiatives taken to build world-class sports infrastructure will give a new identity to Ahmedabad as the ‘Sports City of India’ in the world.
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