EKA Arena

Last updated

EKA Arena
Aka arena .jpg
Panoramic view of the stadium
EKA Arena
Full nameEKA Arena by TransStadia
AddressIndia
Location Kankaria Lake, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Coordinates 23°00′39.7″N72°35′56.8″E / 23.011028°N 72.599111°E / 23.011028; 72.599111
Public transit Janmarg
AMTS
OwnerTrans Stadia
Capacity 20,000 (10,000 more with temporary seats on the pitch area) (outdoor) [1]
Field size105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
Surface Bermuda Grass
Construction
Opened7 October 2016
Construction cost US$ 82.15 million
ArchitectHolmes Miller & DSP Design Associates
Tenants
India national football team (2019–present)
ARA F.C.
Gujarat football team
Gujarat Giants
Atlético de Gujarat
Website
transstadia.com

EKA Arena (formerly The Arena/TransStadia Arena) is a multi-purpose stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, located near Kankaria Lake. The stadium was completed by and officially opened on 7 October 2016. It was built in a public-private partnership between the Government of Gujarat and SE TransStadia, a company led by entrepreneur Udit Sheth.

Contents

The stadium seats 20,000 spectators in its main football configuration. It is capable of being partitioned into an indoor arena, allowing it to host other sporting events (such as kabaddi and table tennis).

History

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inauguration ceremony of the stadium in Ahmedabad, June 30, 2017. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at the ceremony to inaugurate the TransStadia Integrated Sports & Entertainment Arena Project & Khel Mahakhumbh-2017, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on June 30, 2017 (4).jpg
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inauguration ceremony of the stadium in Ahmedabad, June 30, 2017.
Interior of the stadium EKA Arena Stadium(TransStadia).jpg
Interior of the stadium

TransStadia was established by entrepreneur Udit Sheth after being introduced to British footballer and stadium consultant Paul Fletcher. Sheth sought to build a multi-purpose stadium on an otherwise-unused property in Gujarat, [2] licensing technology from Fletcher's company StadiArena to allow part of the facility to be converted into an indoor arena to maximise its utilisation. [3] [4]

Sheth stated that the design of the stadium and its facilities were intended to meet the needs of players, spectators, and broadcasters, including training facilities, ensuring there were no obstructed views and adequate fibreoptic connections for Wi-Fi, and working with Star Sports officials to plan the necessary infrastructure for broadcasting. [3] He cited Amsterdam Arena, the Tokyo Dome, and Wembley Stadium as influences on its overall design. [5]

Lonestar Kashmir FC players lining up during an I-League 2nd Division match at the stadium in 2019 Hamza-lonestar.jpg
Lonestar Kashmir FC players lining up during an I-League 2nd Division match at the stadium in 2019

The facility cost ₹550 crore to construct, as part of a public-private partnership with the state government; Sheth explained that "the project would not have been viable if we decided to charge commercial market value rent and still expected sports to develop. A regular project will recover money in around five years while we will do it in seven to nine years." [2]

Its indoor arena hosted its facility's first sporting event — the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup—in November 2016. [6] A formal inauguration ceremony was held 30 June 2017, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other political and sporting dignitaries. During a speech at the ceremony, Sheth referred to The Arena as "the most modern stadium in the world". [7] [8]

Major events

Kabaddi

The Arena hosted the Kabaddi World Cup in 2016. [6] It has hosted legs of the Pro Kabaddi League, serving as designated home arena of the Gujarat Giants.

Football

In July 2019, the stadium hosted the 2019 Intercontinental Cup, marking the first international football matches held at The Arena. [9]

It was to host matches during the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, [10] but the tournament was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [11] India were awarded the 2022 tournament, but Ahmedabad was not named a host city. [12]

It hosted football during the 2022 National Games of India. [13] [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

Maninagar is an area of Ahmedabad city, Gujarat, India. It is located in the southern part of the city and an important area of the city. It can be divided into two regions - Maninagar East and Maninagar West, separated by the Maninagar Railway Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narendra Modi Stadium</span> Stadium in India

The Narendra Modi Stadium, also known as Motera Stadium, is an international cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is the largest stadium in the world, with a seating capacity of 132,000 spectators. The stadium is owned by the Gujarat Cricket Association and serves as the venue for domestic and international cricket matches. It is one of the premier stadiums of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatorda Stadium</span> Multi-purpose stadium in Margao, Goa

Fatorda Stadium, officially known as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium situated in Margao, Goa, India. The venue has been used to host both international football as well as International cricket matches. However, after the emergence of I-League in 2007 and Indian Super League in 2014, the stadium was turned into football only stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium</span> Stadium in Assam, India

Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, also known as Sarusajai Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Lokhra locality, Guwahati, Assam, India. Seating 21,600 people, it is the home ground of NorthEast United FC and is used for athletic events. The stadium was a host venue for the 2007 National Games of India, the 2016 South Asian Games, and the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Gujarat Cricket Association is the governing body of the Cricket activities in the Gujarat state of India. Its Gujarat cricket team and Gujarat women's cricket team representats the Gujarat in domestic cricket. The GCA is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad</span> Stadium in Ahmedabad, India

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium is an Indian sports stadium located in the Navrangpura locality of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India it is sometimes referred as Sports Club of Gujarat Stadium. The stadium host the first One Day International match played in India. It is owned by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. It is mainly used for cricket, but it has also played host to a number of programs arranged by the Government of Gujarat.

Narendra Modi Medical College is a medical college in Maninagar, Ahmedabad. The college was established in 2009 and is maintained by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's Medical Education Trust. It is affiliated to the Gujarat University and the Sheth L.G. hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Cricket World Cup</span> Ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup in India

The 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is the 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament is being hosted by India. It started on 5 October and is scheduled to conclude on 19 November 2023. England were the defending champions, having won the 2019 edition by defeating New Zealand in the final.

The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup was the third edition of the standard-style Kabaddi World Cup. It was organised by the International Kabaddi Federation and contested from 7 to 22 October 2016 in Ahmedabad, India. Twelve countries competed in the tournament.

Mission XI Million (MXIM) is an initiative designed, created, conceptualized and implemented by the Local Organising Committee of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, under the aegis of the AIFF and supported by the Government of India. Mission XI Million is India’s largest school contact programme that aims to change the perception towards football at the school level in India by reaching out to school administrators, teachers, parents and kids; and explaining to them about how the sport can be played in their schools. The final objective of football becoming a sport of choice in India in the future. The ambitious program intended to engage 11 million school children in football as a lead-up to the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup</span> International football competition

The 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, later postponed and renamed as the 2021 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup before its cancellation, was originally going to be the 7th edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ARA FC</span> Indian association football club

ARA FC is an Indian professional football club based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Founded in 2016, the club is nicknamed "Ahmedabad Alphas", and previously competed in I-League 2nd Division. ARA FC is the first professional team from Gujarat to compete in the nationwide league. The club also competes in Gujarat SFA Club Championship.

The 2019 Intercontinental Cup (known as the 2019 Hero Intercontinental Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the second edition of the Intercontinental Cup, a 4-nations football tournament held at TransStadia Arena in the Indian city of Ahmedabad between the 7th and 19th of July 2019. The tournament was organized by the AIFF.

Sports retain a very valuable position in the culture of Gujarat. Some of the popular sports played in Gujarat are cricket, kho-kho, badminton, football, kabaddi and table tennis. The Sports Authority of Gujarat presides and supervises the sporting activities under the Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department. There have been many successful and popular initiatives undertaken by the authority to encourage the sports culture in Gujarat, Khel Mahakumbh' being an example. Gujarat has various levels of sports competitions including events of both larger and smaller scales.

Jay Amitbhai Shah is an Indian businessman and cricket administrator. He became the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary in 2019. He is also the president of Asian Cricket Council. He is the son of Amit Shah, India's Minister of Home Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khelo India University Games</span> National multi-sport event held in India

Khelo India University Game is a national level multi-sport event held in India, where athletes from universities across the country compete in different sports disciplines. The inaugural edition held in Odisha started on 22 February and concluded on 1 March 2020. It is organised by Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports along with Association of Indian Universities, Indian Olympic Association and National Sports Federation. It is the largest university level sports competition in India.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave is an under-construction sports enclave being built in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Once the sports enclave is fully built, it will be one of the largest of its kind in India. The project is being jointly executed with the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority, and the Government of Gujarat. A primary reason for the sports enclave to be built, is so that the Summer Olympic Games, and other major sporting events could be hosted in India in the future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gujarat Titans</span> Indian cricket franchise

Gujarat Titans (GT) is a professional franchise cricket team based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The Titans compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2021, Gujarat Titans' home ground is Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera. The franchise is owned by CVC Capital Partners. The team is captained by Hardik Pandya and coached by Ashish Nehra. They won their maiden title in the 2022 season, which was also their debut season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 National Games of India</span> Sports event

The 2022 National Games of India, also known as the 36th National Games of India and informally as Gujarat 2022, was the 36th edition of the National Games of India and was held in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar in the state of Gujarat between 29 September and 12 October 2022.

References

  1. "TransStadia Pitch". transstadia.com. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 "TransStadia, the Rs 550 crore sports complex that may put Gujarat on the global sporting map". Firstpost. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 Raje, Aparna Piramal (24 January 2019). "The entrepreneur who built a stadium". mint. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  4. "StadiArena targets US, UK expansion". The Stadium Business. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  5. Pathak, Maulik (10 October 2016). "Arena by TransStadia: A sneak peek into India's first convertible stadium". Mint. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Kabaddi World Cup 2016, India vs South Korea Highlights: South Korea stun India in opener". Firstpost. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  7. "Narendra Modi Gujarat visit: PM inaugurates Asia's biggest multi-purpose stadium TransStadia Arena; take a look". The Financial Express. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  8. "'The Arena' by TransStadia inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi". The Indian Express. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  9. Vasudevan, Shyam. "Intercontinental Cup: Ahmedabad's EKA Arena's first tryst with international football". Sportstar. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  10. Subramanian, Vishal (18 February 2020). "FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2020 schedule revealed - Navi Mumbai to host the final". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  11. "Update on FIFA Club World Cup 2020 and women's youth tournaments". FIFA.com. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  12. "Bhubaneswar, Margao in Goa and Navi Mumbai confirmed as Host Cities for tournament". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  13. "National Games: W Bengal hammer Kerala 5–0 to clinch gold in men's football". wap.business-standard.com. Ahmedabad: Business Standard India. IANS. 12 October 2022. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  14. Sarangi, Y. B. (11 October 2022). "National Games: West Bengal routs Kerala 5–0, wins men's football gold medal after 11 years". sportstar.thehindu.com. Ahmedabad: Sportstar. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.