Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Efforts are underway by the municipal corporation administrator, G Sreekanth, to provide international-standard amenities at the Municipal Corporation’s Garware Stadium. There are no proper seating galleries for spectators. Therefore, the administration has decided to spend Rs 50 crore to construct seating galleries. The tenders for this will be published soon.
The municipal corporation has submitted a proposal for preparing an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) for Garware Stadium to the state government. This proposal has not yet received approval. In the meantime, preparations have begun to provide various facilities at the stadium. The Mumbai-based ‘Collage Design’ has been appointed as the Project Management Consultant (PMC) for the stadium. The PMC has presented the design and cost estimate for constructing seating galleries for spectators. According to this, an expenditure of Rs 50 crore is expected for the galleries, and the administrator has issued orders to initiate the tender process. The tenders will be published soon, said the sources.
Day-Night Match
Stadium floodlights have been installed, enabling day-night matches to take place. To manage the electricity bills, nominal fees are collected from teams. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to be signed with the Maharashtra Cricket Association. This will allow the organisation of Ranji matches, national-level tournaments, and competitions across various age groups.
Proposal for Kalagram’s location
The land next to the stadium has been allocated to Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) for the construction of Kalagram. Efforts are ongoing at the government level by the municipal corporation to reclaim this land for the stadium. However, sources indicate that these efforts have not yet been successful. Until this land is secured, the civic administration will not be able to upgrade the stadium to international standards.