New Delhi: The iconic Nehru Stadium in the National Capital, which has staged innumerable major events including Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, will soon be demolished.
Built in 1982, the stadium with a seating capacity of 60,000 spectators will be razed to create a Sports City around an 102-acre area at the site, PTI reported on Monday quoting a Sports Ministry source.
“No timeline for the project has been fixed yet as it is in ideation phase. We are assessing sports cities like the ones in Doha. Once that is done, we will move ahead with the planning phase,” the source said.
A sports city traditionally provides facilities for multiple disciplines, and has both competition and training venues. A similar project is under construction in Ahmedabad (Sardar Vallabhbhai Sports Enclave) around the Narendra Modi Stadium, which is the centre of India’s 2030 Commonwealth Games and 2036 Olympics bids.
In its 43 years of existence so far, the Nehru Stadium made its ‘international debut’ with the 9th Asian Games in 1982. Two-and-a-half decades later, it was renovated and modernised for the 19th Commonwealth Games in 2010 when the multi-purpose stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies besides Athletics events.
Earlier this year, the World Para Athletics Games were held at the Nehru Stadium.
