The world’s biggest cricket stadium, which is hosting the pink-ball Test between India and England, was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday. We take a look at how the venue and its went through changes over the years.
Ahmedabad will be known as the sports city of India,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah exclaimed with a lot of pride at the inauguration of the newly-built Motera stadium at his home state of Gujarat on Wednesday.
India and England were gearing up for the historic pink-ball Test at the world’s biggest cricket stadium, the Narendra Modi Stadium. The change of name from Sardar Patel, India’s first deputy Prime Minister, to Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister of the country, was announced during the inauguration ceremony which was presided by President Ram Nath Kovind. Amit Shah, BCCI secretary Jay Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju were some of the big names who attended the ceremony.
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During the inauguration ceremony, Amit Shah also announced a new Sports Enclave which will be built, encompassing the Narendra Modi Stadium. The new sports enclave will be named as Sardar Patel Sports Enclave as Ahmedabad is gearing up to host one of the state-of-the-art sports facilities which will match international standards.
“Coupled with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave and 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,” Shah said at the inauguration ceremony.
Speaking about the proposed Sardar Patel Sports Enclave, Shah added: “Olympic Games can also be held here.”
As the cricket stadium is going to evolve into a world-class sporting facility in Ahmedabad, we take a look at how the venue has evolved over the years.
When it was Gujarat Stadium, The Narendra Modi Stadium was formerly known as the Gujarat Stadium, built to honour Sardar Patel.
International matches in Ahmedabad were held at the Municipal Corporation Stadium before 1982, the year in which the first reconstruction of the stadium took place.
From Gujarat to Sardar Patel Stadium, The government of Gujarat donated 100 acres of land on the banks of the Sabarmati River to build the new stadium, which was completed in 9 months and named the Sardar Patel Stadium.
The Sardar Patel Stadium hosted 12 Tests, 23 ODis, and 1 T20I between 1982 and 2016.
From Sardar Patel to Narendra Modi Stadium, The idea to rebuild the stadium into the biggest in the world was conceptualised by PM Modi when he was the chief minister of Gujarat and the president of the Gujarat Cricket Association. The reconstruction process began after 2016.
“This stadium was conceptualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. He was president of the Gujarat Cricket Association at that time,” Ram Nath Kovind said during his address on Wednesday.
The rebuild Motera stadium hosted the Namaste Trump ceremony in 2020 as the stadium was opened to the public for the first time. Competitive cricket matches were held here when the knockout stages of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy were held earlier this year.
On Wednesday, hours ahead of the 3rd Test between India and England, the stadium was renamed as Narendra Modi Stadium.
What is special about the Narendra Modi Stadium? The Narendra Modi Stadium is spread across 63 acres of land in Ahmedabad.
The estimated cost of the stadium is Rs 800 crore. The stadium has a total capacity of 1,32,000 as it surpassed the capacity of Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia which can host 90,000 fans.
The Narendra Modi Stadium has 4 dressing rooms with world-class facilities.
A built-in clubhouse with 55 rooms further adds to the stadium’s glory. The clubhouse features both indoor & outdoor games, restaurants, an Olympic size swimming pool, gym as well as a 3D projector theatre.
It is the first time that the field of an Indian cricket stadium has been fitted with LED lights. No other stadium has this feature. There are three entry points to the stadium.Live TV