India's Mega Projects: What Made Narendra Modi Stadium The Largest Stadium In The World?

The Narendra Modi stadium attracted eyeballs when it hosted former President of the United States of America Donald Trump. Formerly known as the Motera Stadium, it is situated in Sardar Vallabhai Patel Sports Enclave in Gujarat's capital Ahmedabad. The Stadium has hosted several government events and cricket matches of all formats. As of 2022, the Narendra Modi stadium is the largest in the world, with a seating capacity of 1,32,000. One of the most significant features of the Stadium is that it is the only one in the country that provides the spectators with a 360-degree view without obstruction by any pillars.

Major Events That Took Place In The Stadium

With over a 63-acre footprint, the refurbished Motera Stadium has four dressing rooms, 76 corporate boxes, a full-fledged cricket academy, an Olympic-size swimming pool, gymnasiums inside dressing rooms, six indoor pitches, two practice grounds, among other things. It was also formerly known as the Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium and boasted rich history. It was the same soil on which former ace cricketer Sunil Gavaskar scored his 10,000th run in 1986-87, Kapil Dev took his 432nd wicket in 1992, South African Cricketer AB de Villiers smashed a Test double-ton in 2008. India defeated the Australians in the quarter-final of the 2011 World Cup.

Though the Stadium was constructed in 1986, it got its first makeover in 2006, after which it became the preferred venue to host several international matches. In 2015, the government wholly closed and renovated the Stadium, which was thrown open for the public in February 2020. After spending Rs 800 crores for the project's renovation, the Gujarat Cricket Association renamed the Stadium after Gujarat's former Chief Minister and current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. On February 24, 2021, the Stadium hosted its first-ever pink ball test.

The Parking lot of the Stadium can keep over 3,000 cars and 10,000 two-wheelers safe. Unlike the old version of the Stadium, which had just one entry point, the new one has three entries, with one of them linking to the metro line. Usually, cricket stadiums have floodlights for hosting ODI matches. However, the Narendra Modi Stadium has LED lights on the roof, which are anti-bacterial and form a fireproof canopy. The lightweight top was specially designed to separate it from the seating bowl to make it earthquake resistant. The structure eliminates the need for pillars and gives spectators an unobstructed view of the entire field from any point in the Stadium.

The new structure hosts a new ramp that could facilitate the movement of over 60,000 people simultaneously. Under the Motera Metro Station project, the builders have envisioned connecting it to the metro station by a skywalk to decrease road congestion. Apart from being the only cricket stadium with four dressing rooms that could enable players to playback matches on the same day. The built-in clubhouse of the Stadium has more than 50 rooms which add to the glory of the Narendra Modi stadium. Moreover, unlike any other venue, every stand of the Stadium has its food court.

When Did The Stadium Rise To Prominence?

The Stadium rose to prominence from 2006 to 2015, after India won the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, in which it also hosted five of the total 15 games played. The Stadium was minutely renovated to add three new pitches and another outfield to it. In October 2015, the Stadium was demolished, only reconstructed again. People had called the procedure a makeover for the Sardar Patel Stadium on social media. The total cost of the project was pinned at ₹700 crores. However, the final cost of the entire renovation procedure came nearly ₹800 crores. The redevelopment, originally planned to finish in 2019, was finally completed in 2020.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proposed the redevelopment of the Gujarat Cricket Association and the then Chief Minister of Gujarat. When Modi moved to Delhi to take charge as the Prime Minister in 2014, there were discussions of minor changes in the Stadium on the pavilion's end. However, when the Prime Minister learned about the massiveness of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, he proposed the construction of an entirely new version of the Stadium instead of resorting to minor upgrades.

The Three Bidders For The Final Race

When the Stadium's demolition began in 2015, the Gujarat Cricket Association requested tenders in national dailies. Initially, nine bidders showed interest and purchased the documents for the tenders; however, only three bidders submitted the documents on time. The three organizations in the race to bag the final bid were the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Nagarjuna Construction Company, and Larsen & Toubro. The association formed a Tender Committee of nine experts to evaluate the proposals. The bidders presented their models, designs, sizes and budgets for the project.

Since the project was massive, the bidders were evaluated on several parameters like efficiency, resources, the time frame of completion and the ease of implementation. The committee ranked the bidders based on all the parameters. Larsen & Toubro was ranked first with the lowest bid of ₹677.19 crores, followed by Sharpoonji Pallonji Group, with an offer of ₹847.88 crores, and the last was the Nagarjuna Construction Company's bid of ₹1,065 crores. In the end, L&T was chosen to build and design the entire project.

After the construction of the Stadium finished in 2020, the first pink-ball Test between India and England was hosted in the Stadium. After that, the Gujarat government has also hosted several events in the Stadium. Previously known as the Motera stadium in the Sardar Vallabhai Complex, it was renamed the Narendra Modi Stadium during the inauguration ceremony by President Ramnath Kovind. Moreover, the Stadium is the most famous for hosting former President Donald Trump during the Namaste Trump event.

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