Bhubanewar: Indian Super League (ISL) team Delhi Dynamos FC has decided to shift base to Kalinga Stadium from 2019-20 season, primarily because of economic factors.
The team earlier played their home games at Jawarharlal Nehru Stadium (JNS) in Delhi.
According to reports, the club’s management feels that cost of operations can be brought down with this move.
Besides, the JNS in Delhi had repeatedly failed to draw good crowd to cheer the team during the football matches. The average spectator turnout at the stadium of 60,000 capacity was just under 9,000 last season.
Notably, the Kalinga stadium has successfully hosted the two editions of the Hero Super Cup.
The Odisha government, which is promoting sports in a big way, had earlier welcomed the idea of having an ISL team playing their home games at the stadium with a capacity of 15,000. It has also hosted ISL matches in the past when Jamsedpur FC used it as their home stadium for a match in December 2017.
Since Jamsedpur FC received huge support in the home city, Delhi Dynamos feels that shifting to Bhubaneswar will help it too.
Indian Arrows and India FA’s developmental side have also played their home matches at Kalinga Stadium.