The Sardar Patel stadium in Motera near Ahmedabad was on Wednesday renamed as the Narendra Modi Stadium.
The stadium, popularly known as the Motera Stadium, which was recently re-opened after extensive renovation work which increased seating capacity to a record 1,10,000, hosts its first Test match on Wednesday with India taking on England in a day-night match.
The President of India President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the refurbished stadium – now a state-of-the-art facility, which can accommodate an awe-inspiring 1.32 lakh spectators in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju. BCCI office-bearers including Jay Shah (secretary), Arun Dhumal (joint-secretary), and Rajeev Shukla (vice-president) were also present.
“The total area is equivalent to 32 Olympic size soccer fields put together,” stated a note from the Press Information Bureau giving specifics of the enormous structure.
At an estimated cost of ₹800 crore, and with a seating capacity of 1,32,000 spectators, Spread over 63 acres, the stadium surpassed the Melbourne Cricket Ground which can accommodate 90,000.