AHMEDABAD, India, Dec 13, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The world’s biggest cricket
stadium, with space for 110,000 spectators, is taking shape in India and is
likely to host its first international match early next year.
The new stadium in Ahmedabad, built at a cost of around $100 million, will
seat more fans than Australia’s Melbourne Cricket Ground which can
accommodate around 100,000 spectators.
According to reports, the Sardar Patel stadium is expected to host its
first match in March with an exhibition game between an Asia XI and a World
XI as the inaugural game.
The stadium will have more than 70 corporate boxes, four dressing rooms, a
clubhouse and an Olympic-size swimming pool. Its construction began in
January 2017.
It will overtake Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, currently India’s biggest stadium
with a capacity of 66,000 — down from 100,000 after a major rebuilding
project.
India, the world’s top-ranked Test team, has more than a dozen stadiums
capable of holding international cricket matches. Test matches, however,
often attract sparse crowds.