There is so much hype, as usual, about the upcoming India vs Pakistan match on Saturday, at Narendra Modi Stadium October 14, in the World Cup 2023 group stage.
There is an extra layer of excitement among the fans this time because this marquee match of the tournament will be played at the gigantic Ahmedabad . The venue will also host the final of the World Cup, on November 19.
Today in this article we will tell you some interesting and fascinating facts about the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
10 facts about Narendra Modi Stadium:
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is the largest cricket stadium – in terms of seating capacity – in the entire world. It can house 132,000 spectators, more than the 100,000 capacity of the Melbourne Cricket Stadium in Melbourne.
The Stadium was built on the same plot where the Sardar Patel Stadium, also called Motera, was present from 1982 to 2015, until its demolition.
In 2015, the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) demolished it in its desire to build a state-of-the-art, world’s biggest cricket stadium, boasting of world-class facilities for fans and players.
The stadium has 4 dressing rooms, 11 center pitches, and 2 practice grounds that can host practice as well as domestic matches.
The estimated cost of building the Narendra Modi stadium was INR 800 crore (US$100 million). It was designed by Australia’s design firm Populous and built by Larsen and Toubro. It took them 5 years to build the stadium.
The newly built, renovated stadium hosted its first match in February 2021 between India and England. The Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) then decided to rename the stadium in honor of the current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. Modi was the president of the GCA (2009–2014) and the chief minister of Gujarat (2001-2014).
The stadium was inaugurated by Ram Nath Kovind, the president of India.
In 2020, the “Namaste Trump” event was organized here for the then president of the United States, Donald Trump. This was the first time the Narendra Modi Stadium was opened after renovation for the general public.
Talking more about its structure, this stadium is built on 63 acres of land. It has 3 entry points, with a metro line at one of the entry points. It has 76 corporate boxes that can hold 25 persons each, a 55-room clubhouse, an Olympic-size swimming pool.
Further, one distinct feature of the stadium is its LED light system on the roof, instead of the usual floodlight towers.
India defeated Australia in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final at this ground.
