 "Representational image. Reuters")
Tamil Nadu will have two world-class cricket venues in the coming days with a brand new stadium reportedly planned for Coimbatore.
According to a report on DT Next, the Government of Tamil Nadu led by Chief Minister MK Stalin has floated tenders to prepare a detailed project report for the construction of the proposed stadium in the city located in the western part of the state. The state’s Sports Department has asked for bids to be submitted within a month.
The government plans on having a venue with the largest seating capacity in the entire country, surpassing the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad that currently is the largest cricket stadium in the world.
Also included in the plans are cafeterias and restaurants for the public, viewing galleries and a cricket museum for the public and a specialist indoor fielding zone and a high-performance centre for players.
The report further states that the stadium will be located 16 kilometres outside Coimbatore city on NH 544 connecting Salem in Tamil Nadu and Kochi in Kerala.
Tamil Nadu CM Stalin had in April promised the construction of a brand new international cricket stadium in Coimbatore in his party’s manifesto during the Lok Sabha elections.
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More Shorts“As a sports and cricket enthusiast, I would like to add one more promise to our manifesto for elections 2024. We will take efforts to establish a state-of-the-art cricket stadium in Coimbatore, with the active participation of the sports loving people of Coimbatore,” Stalin had wrote on X.
The upcoming venue will thus serve as an alternative to Chennai’s iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium, aka Chepuak, that is located next to the city’s famous Marina Beach.
Established in 1916, it is the second oldest cricket stadium in India after Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens, and has hosted a total of 34 Tests — the first of which was between India and England in 1934.