What Makes Motera Stadium the World’s Largest Cricket Ground?  

The world’s biggest cricket stadium is ready and housed in the land of cricket enthusiasts – India. This is a country where even a small lane has its own cricket team. Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings are dedicated to the Gully Cricket. A land where cricket legends have made centuries like Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar. So housing the world’s largest cricket stadium is more like a must thing to have than a milestone to achieve.

Source: gujaratcricketassociation.com

Here we are talking about Motera Stadium. Yes, the one for which we were waiting from the past two years.

Let’s know something about this cricket ground located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

First thing Motera Stadium is not a new construction it’s a reconstruction of the existing one. Yep. The Motera Stadium, which is now a hot topic of the cricket world, was first constructed in 1982, and it went under reconstruction in 2017 and was closed off in 2015. What was the reason behind it? Was it always the largest one? 

(Intended look of Motera Stadium! Source: populous.com)

No. It wasn’t the largest one from the beginning, and it was listed in the largest cricket stadium in the world after the completion of reconstruction. The largest stadium of the world till now was Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia. 

Why did the Motera Stadium go in the reconstruction? The reason behind this is to have a full space to organize important events like the World Cup. Oh, by the way, did we tell you that India will be hosting the World Cup 2023? Yes, you heard it right. So excited enough?

Insights of Motera Stadium

Owner: GCA (Gujarat Cricket Association)                                                                                               

The area of the stadium is the same as the old one. Then, What are the changes that made it the largest cricket stadium in the world?  

It won’t be magic, right? But it was. The magic of the architect firm Populous. The world’s no. 1 firm known for the construction of sports venues. 

Do you Know? The Melbourne Cricket Stadium was also designed by the same architect (Populous).  

The world’s biggest cricket stadium: Motera Stadium has the following features:

• The field size of the stadium is 171 m x 146 m.
• The total amount spent on the project is $102 Million (700 Crore Rupees).
• The Cricket Stadium has a clubhouse with 50 rooms, 3 practice cricket grounds, 76 corporate boxes, 4 dressing rooms, and an Olympic size swimming pool.
• If we talk about parking space, it can accommodate upto 3000 four-wheelers and 10,000 two-wheelers.
• The Roof Construction alone cost $35.7 million.
• It will also have a Cricket Training Academy.
• The whole stadium is constructed in around two years. The founding stone was laid on 16th January 2017 by Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA).
• The stadium will have 11 cricket pitches of which some are prepared with red soil, and some with black soil and others have a mixture of both. The pitches are bouncy as well as spin-friendly. 

Source: gujaratcricketassociation.com

Facts of the Motera stadium ground:

• The 100 acres of land was donated by the Gujarat government to the GCA. 
• In 1987, Sunil Gavaskar scored his 10,000th Test run on this ground and was the first batsman to reach the milestone (after which the stadium gained popularity). 
• In 1994, Kapil Dev took his 432nd Test wicket and became the highest wicket-taker in the world. This was also on this ground.
• In 1999, the legend of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, witnessed its double-century on the field of Motera Stadium.
• The stadium has hosted many other games too.

#FACT: Along with Motera Stadium, India now has a total of 5 largest cricket stadiums in the world ranking in the list of Top 10.

And all this makes the Motera Stadium an influential place for the cricketers and cricket lovers too! The project was the result of the idea of PM Narendra Modi.

The project was completed in 2019, and the inauguration is estimated to be on the 24th of February when the President of the US, Donald Trump, is visiting the smart city – Ahmedabad.

The sources say there are chances of delay in the inauguration. GCA has declared the event ‘Namaste Trump’ will be held here, but the inauguration of the complex won’t be marked. 

In an interview with media, the vice-president of GCA said, “This event’s name is Namaste Trump. It is meant for hosting U.S. President Donald Trump. We will inaugurate the stadium later.”

So there has been no disclosure of the initiation date of the biggest stadium in the world – Motera Stadium.

Top 10 Largest Stadium in The World (According to Seating Capacity) 

Here’s what Indian Prime Minister and The President of the USA tweeted!!

Welcome to India @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/EOweSVwnXG

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 24, 2020

Our two national constitutions both begin with the same three beautiful words: “We the people.” That means that in America and India alike, we honor, respect, trust, empower, and fight for the citizens we proudly serve! 🇺🇸🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/hfKKSqlVfe

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2020

Let’s keep our hearts calm and wait for the declaration of the date. Stay tuned with the Architecturesstyle for the updates related to the world-class architectures around the globe.