Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that Ahmedabad in Gujarat would emerge as the country’s “sports city” as world-class facilities for all kinds of games are being put in place here.
Shah made the statement after President Ram NathKovind inaugurated in Ahmedabad the world’s largest cricket stadium, which is now known as NarendraModi stadium – renamed after the country’s Prime Minister.
The president also performed the ground-breaking ceremony of a sports complex in the stadium, to be named SardarVallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, for disciplines like football, hockey, basketball, kabaddi, boxing, and lawn tennis among others.
Shah said that a complex spread over an area of 17 acres of area with world-class facilities for different sports will also come up in Naranpura area of Ahmedabad. “The SardarVallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, the NarendraModi stadium and the sports complex at Naranpura will offer complete facilities within the same city at the same place for any sports played internationally. With all these facilities, Ahmedabad will be in a position to get ready within six months to host any international sports event,” Shah said.
The minister said that the sports enclave will be available to play all the games that are played in Olympics, and it will have stadiums for football and hockey as well as an indoor stadium.
“Such sports facilities are not available in any other city in India at present. Ahmedabad, which Modiji transformed into India’s heritage city, is now ready to become the country’s sports city…Ahmedabad will be considered as India’s sports city.
“With such sports infrastructure, Ahmedabad will be known as India’s sports city, which is the dream that Prime Minister NarendraModiji saw when he was the chief minister of Gujarat,” Shah said.
Stating that infrastructure was also being put in place to connect the sports enclave to other parts of the city, he expressed happiness that all the facilities have either come up or are being developed within the GandhinagarLokSabha constituency, which he represents.