Motera Cricket Stadium, The Largest Stadium In The World, Named After Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi Stadium was renamed the world’s largest cricket stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad and opened on Wednesday by India’s President Ram Nath Kovind in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah; his son Jay Shah, who is Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI); and others.

The reconstructed stadium is part of the proposed sprawling Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, comprising the world’s largest cricket stadium, an indoor swimming pool, athletics and track and field sports facilities, a football stadium, field hockey and tennis stadium, indoor sports halls, and arenas, a velodrome/skating area, and outdoor fields. The enclave covers more than 220 acres on the banks of the Sabarmati River in the north-eastern region of Ahmedabad.

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Along with the inauguration of the rebuilt cricket stadium, the President laid the foundation stone for the sports enclave.

In his speech, Mr. Shah said that after the completion of the Sardar Patel Sports Enclave, Ahmedabad will become a city with a state-of-the-art international sports infrastructure.

“Coupled with the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave and the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, a sports complex will also be built-in Naranpura. These three will be equipped to host any international sports event,” Mr. Shah stated at the inauguration ceremony.

The new Motera Stadium, set up by the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA), is the PM’s dream project to completely demolish the old stadium and rebuild a new one in its place, one of the largest in the world with the best in its class facilities.

“This stadium was conceptualized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. He was president of the Gujarat Cricket Association at that time,” President Ram Nath Kovind stated during his inaugural address on Wednesday.

The old stadium, with a capacity of 49,000 seats, was known as the Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium, where many matches of historic significance were played. Between 1982 and 2016, it hosted 12 tests, 23 One-Day Internationals, and one T20.

In 2016, construction of the new stadium began. It was constructed at an approximate cost of ~ 800 crores. The refurbished stadium is spread over a parcel of 63 acres. The newly constructed stadium has a total capacity of 1,32,000, according to the GCA. It greatly exceeds the size of Australia’s hitherto largest Melbourne Cricket Ground, which can accommodate 90,000 spectators. Three entry points to the stadium are available.

The new stadium has four dressing rooms with world-class facilities and a built-in clubhouse with 55 rooms. The clubhouse has facilities for both indoor and outdoor games, restaurants, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a gym, and a 3D projector theatre.
This is the first time the field of an Indian cricket stadium has been fitted with LED lights.

On the same day last year, on February 24, the Prime Minister hosted U.S. President Donald Trump with the mega ‘Namaste Trump’ event at the stadium.