Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai)

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Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Marina Arena[1]
Aerial view of the stadium
Map
LocationChennai, India
Coordinates13°05′08″N 80°16′18″E / 13.08556°N 80.27167°E / 13.08556; 80.27167
Public transitup Chennai Central
up Chennai Park Town
up Moore Market Complex
OwnerGovernment of Tamil Nadu
OperatorGovernment of Tamil Nadu
Capacity40,000
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened1993
General contractorLarsen & Toubro
Tenants
Tamil Nadu football team
Tamil Nadu women's football team
Chennaiyin (2014–present)
Sethu FC (2024-present)
Tamil Thalaivas (2017-present)

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Chennai, India. The stadium is located at Sydenhams Road in Park Town besides the Chennai Central suburban railway station. It has a capacity of 40,000.

In 1946, the Corporation Stadium was built in a portion of the land occupied by the People's Park in Central Madras. The stadium hosted nine test cricket matches between 1956 and 1965. The stadium was refurbished in 1993 and was named after India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It hosted the 1993 Nehru Cup, 1995 South Asian Games, and other international football matches in the 1990s.

Currently, it is used to mostly host football matches and athletic competitions, and is sometimes used for hosting functions and concerts. The stadium is used by the Tamil Nadu football team and the Tamil Nadu women's football team for playing its official home matches. Indian Super League team Chennaiyin FC and Indian Women's League team Sethu FC also use the stadium as their home ground.

The complex also houses an indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 8,000 built in 1995. It has a skating rink and facilities to host other indoor sports. The Pro Kabaddi League team Tamil Thalaivas play their home matches at the indoor complex.

History

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In 1946, the Corporation stadium was built on a portion of land occupied by the People's Park in Central Chennai.[2][3][4] It had a capacity of 20,000 and consisted of six cricket pitches with field hockey and football fields on either side surrounded by a 30 ft (9.1 m) wide athletics track.[5] The stadium was used to host sport matches and other official events such as the parade during Mountbatten's visit to Madras in 1946.[6] It hosted six test cricket matches from 1956 to 1965.[7]

In the early 1990s, C. R. Viswanathan, then the Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Football Association, approached the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa with a plan to refurbish the old Corporation stadium into new modern facility.[8] The stadium was refurbished in 1992 in a span of 234 days, at a cost of ₹440 million (US$5.3 million) and the capacity was expanded to 40,000. [9][10] It was named after India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.[11] The stadium hosted the Nehru Cup international football tournament in January-February 1993.[5][9] It later hosted the football matches at the 1995 South Asian Games, and other international matches.[12]

An indoor stadium with a capacity of 8,000 was added at a cost of ₹200 million (US$2.4 million) in 1995.[5][10] In 1998, the indoor stadium hosted the World Volleyball Grand Prix tournament.[13][14] In 2012-13, the Government of Tamil Nadu renovated the stadium at a cost of ₹178.06 million (US$2.1 million).[10] The indoor stadium was refurbished at a cost of ₹120 million (US$1.4 million) and added a new skating rink.[15] A new synthetic athletics track, new football turf, and floodlights were added and new accomodation were constructed. A new warm-up facility was constructed to the north of the stadium at a cost of ₹331 million (US$4.0 million).[11][10][16] The stadium underwent further renovation in 2023 before it served as the host of the fifth Khelo India Youth Games in January 2024.[1][17]

Facilities

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The Stadium in 2017

The stadium has a natural football turf surrounded by a 400 m (1,300 ft) eight lane synthetic athletics track and a seating capacity of 40,000. The indoor complex has a seating capacity of 8,000 and is used to host several indoor sports. There are two concrete basketball courts, two beach volleyball courts, three clay volleyball courts, one throw ball court, a roller rink, a handball court, a fencing hall, a boxing ring, and a kabaddi field. There are also facilities for judo, weightlifting, table tennis, chess, and carrom besides a fitness center and a conference hall.[10] The indoor complex can also be re-configured to hosts functions and concerts.[18][19]

Notable records

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Panoramic view of the stadium

In 1953, Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy were involved in a 413-run partnership for the first wicket against New Zealand in 1956, a test cricket record which remained unbroken till 2008 and still remains the second highest till date.[20] The Indian national cricket team won its first test series against England in 1962 after winning the fifth and final test match of the series at the venue.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Marina arena gets a khelo India makeover". DT next. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  2. ^ Subramanian, Karthik (19 February 2005). "A horticulturist's delight a picture of neglect now". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 March 2006.
  3. ^ "A stroll to memorialise history". The New Indian Express. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Nehru Stadium, Madras". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Lost landmarks of Chennai". Madras Musings. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Mountbatten's journey in Madras". DT next. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Nehru Stadium, Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  8. ^ Ramchand, Partab. "Sports-loving Jayalalithaa remembered". Madras Musings. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Lone Indian Star, the stadium" (PDF). Madras Musings. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d e Tamil Nadu Sports policy note, 2014-15 (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu (Report). pp. 50–51. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai". Government of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  12. ^ Mitra, Atanu. "How Amma organised India's first international women's football tournament, the Gold Cup in 1994". scroll.in. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  13. ^ "World Volleyball Grand Prix". FIVB. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  14. ^ "International Sporting Events". Government of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  15. ^ "Jawaharlal Nehru indoor stadium to be renovated at Rs. 10 crore". The Hindu. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  16. ^ "Nehru stadium work stalls sports days". The Hindu. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Nehru Stadium decked up for Khelo India Youth Games". The New Indian Express. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  18. ^ "I movie audio launched". Sify. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  19. ^ "Arnold arrives in Chennai". The Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  20. ^ "Highest partnership for first wicket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
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