Bestowed with the tag of the world’s largest stadium, “Motera Stadium'' is owned by the Gujarat Cricket Association. The ground was earlier known as the Sardar Patel Stadium and is one of the most extravagant cricket grounds in the country. The state of Gujarat is the proud location where the stadium is situated, being primarily in the city of Ahmedabad. It was a popular place for many test matches and ODIs in the earlier years before it was brought down in 2016. This was because it had to be reconstructed with all the modern amenities and a much bigger seating capacity. It was speculated that this Stadium was reconstructed with an approximate cost of INR 8 billion.
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With a seating capacity of 110,000, this sports complex is the world's biggest cricket stadium and the world's second-largest sports ground. However, the Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, is the largest in the world with a seating capacity of 114,000.
The History Behind the World’s Largest Cricket Stadium
Speaking of the earlier years (1982-2006), when the stadium was known as Gujarat Stadium, it was changed to Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium in honor of his legacy by the country's first home minister and then deputy prime minister. The government of Gujarat allocated 100 acres of land on the banks of the Sabarmati River to establish the stadium in 1982. All of the international cricket tournaments were often conducted by this stadium after the successful completion of the ground. Between 1984-85, the Sardar Patel Stadium witnessed the first-ever Indian Australia ODI series.
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After years, in 2006 ICC Champions Trophy was played in this stadium (five out of the fifteen matches). In reality, every time India hosted an ICC World Cup, Motera Stadium has always been a venue until now. And during the 1996 World Cup, the first-ever World Cup game at Motera Stadium was played between England and New Zealand. India beat Australia in the quarter-finals here in the 2011 World Cup and went on to become the winners after beating Pakistan in the semi-finals and Sri Lanka in the tournament finals. It organized 12 tests, 23 ODIs, and one T20 international until August 19, 2017.
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Construction and Reconstruction
The construction of the Motera Stadium came into being when the Gujarat government allocated a tremendous 100 acres of land along the Sabarmati River. Earlier, the matches were conducted in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Stadium. However, in the year 2016, the reconstruction work for the stadium began according to the proposal of the current PM Narendra Modi (former CM of Gujarat).
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Did you know that the construction giant “Larsen and Toubro” was hired to build the massive Motera Stadium?
Well equipped with all the modern facilities, the stadium is the pride of India. The gigantic stadium has three entry points and is distributed over 63 acres. It has 76 business boxes, each with a seating capacity of 25. It also has an indoor pool of the Olympic scale and four changing rooms.
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A Quick Trivia about the Stadium!
Let’s have a quick look at the facts about the stadium that will blow your mind:
· It is the world's largest stadium with a seating capacity of over 110,000 people.
· It is known to have created an amazing history for many of the legendary cricketers.
· The stadium took a whopping INR 800 crore for its makeover.
· It has a massive parking space and can easily accommodate 3000 cars and around 10,000 two-wheelers.
· The place has about 76 corporate boxes, also all of them are air-conditioned and can have 25 people in each one.
· The stadium has two separate practice grounds with 9 pitches and numerous nets for the players to practice their game.
· It also offers you many other facilities such as indoor pitches, along with sports such as football, hockey, and basketball.
· The ground has been fitted with LED lights, which are one of a kind in India.
· You would be surprised to know that the stadium has a food court at almost every stand and has an inbuilt clubhouse with outstanding gyming facilities for the players.
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Important Milestones Witnessed by the Stadium!
· The legendary Kapil Dev surpassed Sir Richard Hadlee's record 431 wickets in the tests and went on to become the highest wicket-taker in the test cricket matches at that time.
· Sunil Gavaskar achieved ten thousand runs in the test match against Pakistan.
· The cricket god, Sachin Tendulkar became the first-ever cricketer to score 18000 runs in an ODI cricket match against Australia during the 2011 cricket world cup.
· Sachin Tendulkar made his first test double hundred in a match against New Zealand in the year 1999.
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