Colosseum in the cradle: Work in full swing in Sundargarh to build India’s largest hockey stadium

There
are
ample
signs
that
the
construction
of
the
country’s
largest
hockey
stadium
is
in
full
swing.
Come
January
next
year,
the
Birsa
Munda
International
Hockey
Stadium
in
Odisha’s
tribal-dominated
Sundargarh
district
will
be
packed
to
the
rafters
during
the
FIH
Men’s
Hockey
World
Cup.

As
many
as
20,000
supporters
will
be
rooting
for
the
Indian
hockey
team,
which
is
riding
high
on
the
Tokyo
Olympics
success
and
will
seek
to
not
only
better
the
quarterfinal
finish
in
the
2018
edition
in
Bhubaneswar
but
also
win
the
showpiece
event.

The
work
at
the
stadium
on
the
outskirts
of
Rourkela
city
started
in
June
last
year
and
it
is
going
on
round
the
clock
as
officials
battle
to
complete
it
within
the
deadline.
Normally,
it
takes
around
18-24
months
to
build
a
stadium
of
this
size.

“But,
we
designed
and
planned
it
in
such
a
way
so
that
we
can
save
time
in
engineering
and
the
conventional
construction
part,”
Sports
Department
infrastructure
consultant
Swagat
Singh
said.

The
executing
agency
of
the
Rs
200-crore
stadium
is
the
Industrial
Infrastructure
Development
Corporation
of
Odisha
and
it
has
sublet
the
work
to
Larsen
and
Toubro.
The
80-crore
accommodation
near
the
practice
pitch
is
being
done
by
another
contractor
and
its
deadline
is
October,
the
official
said.

The
35-acre
site
includes
the
stadium
and
accommodation
inside
the
120-acre
campus
of
the
Biju
Patnaik
University
of
Technology.

“It’s
India’s
largest
hockey
stadium.
We’re
also
assuming
it
to
be
the
world’s
biggest,
but
yet
to
get
that
confirmation
from
the
FIH,”
he
told
a
group
of
journalists
at
the
site,
293
km
northwest
of
capital
Bhubaneswar.

Singh
exuded
confidence
in
finishing
the
work
in
time
by
August.
“Almost
50-60
per
cent
of
the
work
has
been
completed,”
he
told
PTI.
The
workforce
size
is
around
400.
The
casting
is
done
at
night
and
preparatory
work
in
the
morning
due
to
the
searing
heat
for
the
past
few
weeks.

By
the
end
of
this
month,
the
complete
shell
will
be
done.
Once
the
skeleton
structure
is
completed,
the
workers
will
start
giving
the
finishing
touch.
There
are
many
USPs
of
this
project,
one
of
which
is
that
it
is
a
disabled-friendly
stadium.

“In
other
stadiums,
there
are
multiple
floodlights,
but
we
are
integrating
it
within
the
building
itself
so
that
it
won
hamper
the
aesthetics,”
Singh
said.
The
colosseum-like
structure
is
continuous,
making
it
more
functional
in
terms
of
viewing.

Singh
highlighted
that
one
will
get
a
clear
picture
without
any
vision
block
no
matter
at
what
gallery
or
at
which
angle
a
spectator
sits.
The
field
of
play
has
a
more
run-off
area,
the
official
said,
expressing
hope
that
it
would
host
many
World
Cup
matches,
the
scheduling
of
which
is
yet
to
be
done.

There
will
be
some
light
projection
and
the
facade
has
been
designed
in
such
a
way
that
cultural
aspects
of
the
region
can
be
integrated.
“Wall
arts
and
murals
will
also
be
there.
It
will
be
an
amalgamation
of
culture
and
heritage,”
Singh
said.

Just
like
the
Hollywood
Sign
on
Mount
Lee
in
Los
Angeles,
the
administration
had
planned
to
write
Rourkela
on
the
lush
green
and
scenic
Durgapur
Hills,
which
overlooks
and
runs
across
one
side
of
the
stadium.
“But
there
are
some
technical
and
stability
issues,”
Additional
District
Magistrate
Subhankar
Mohapatra
said.

“We’re
still
trying
though.”
Before
the
World
Cup,
the
Fédération
Internationale
de
Hockey
(FIH)
will
certify
whether
it
has
complied
with
all
the
standards.
He
informed
that
they
are
planning
to
hold
a
Pro
League
in
October-end
that
will
act
as
a
test
event.
Post
the
World
Cup,
the
government
is
mulling
to
convert
the
entire
complex
into
an
academy
so
that
it
remains
a
benchmark.

Sundargarh
is
regarded
as
the
cradle
of
Indian
hockey
that
has
churned
out
the
likes
of
Dilip
Tirkey,
Amit
Rohidas
and
Birendra
Lakra.
From
kids
to
the
elderly,
there’s
a
lot
of
craze
for
the
sport
in
the
region.

That’s
why
the
state
government
wanted
to
have
a
footprint
in
the
district
because
they
wished
to
give
it
as
a
gift
to
the
local
population,
Singh
pointed
out.
“Many
kids
here
prefer
to
hold
a
hockey
stick
instead
of
a
cricket
bat.”