Bids are being invited to build a new 30,000-capacity stadium in Delhi that can host cricket and football matches.
The Delhi Development Authority has launched a tender to find suitable partners for the project, according to the Hindustan Times newspaper. The stadium would be located in the Dwarka area of Delhi.
The stadium would cost Rs350 crore (£35.1m/€41.4m/$46.6m) and would be built as part of a public-private partnership. The wider complex will include a 2,000-capacity indoor venue, as well as badminton, table tennis, squash and billiards facilities.
The Delhi Development Authority is seeking a private concessionaire to construct the stadium and operate it once it is complete. According to the Hindustan Times, the concessionaire would be permitted commercial development on 35% of the land to “recover the cost” of the project.
An official told the newspaper: “It will be developed on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. The private concessionaire can construct hotels, malls and other commercial facilities to recover the cost of the project. The commercial component will be given on a 99-year lease whereas the concessionaire will have to operate and maintain the integrated sports facility for a period of 30 years.”
It is hoped the stadium could be completed within three years once contracts have been awarded by the Delhi Development Authority.
The only international-standard cricket venue in Delhi is Arun Jaitley Stadium (pictured), which has a capacity of 41,000.
PK Soni, the media manager at the Delhi and District Cricket Association, has questioned whether a 30,000-capacity stadium would be beneficial to Delhi. He believes a stadium with a capacity of 60,000 to 65,000 would be more suitable.
Soni said: “While a new cricket stadium is needed in Delhi, a cricket and football stadium will not be successful. I don’t advocate it, as the cricket pitch, which is at the centre of the field, will get damaged during football matches.”
Image: Paramgoel/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size
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