SAMBALPUR: Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) stadium in the city will get floodlights by the end of June.
The District Athletic Association (DAA), Sambalpur, which manages the stadium, will instal the floodlights in the stadium to organise day-night cricket and football matches besides other sports events.
Secretary of DAA, Sambalpur Dulal Chandra Pradhan said civil work for installation of 10 permanent towers for floodlights has already been completed. “Work on installation of permanent towers in the stadium besides electricity cabling will start shortly,” he said.
Pradhan said Hindalco Industries Limited (HIL), Hirakud will carry out the tower installation and cabling work. HIL has also undertaken civil work for installation of the towers, he said. A total of 200 floodlights of 400 watt each will be fitted on the towers. Funds to the tune of `20 lakh, which has been provided by Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) for development of the stadium, will be utilised for fitting 200 floodlights and other mechanical works.
The tender for fitting floodlights will be floated after Model Code of Conduct is lifted. VSS stadium, one of the prominent sports facilities of western Odisha, has hosted several Ranji Trophy and Deodhar Trophy cricket matches. Moreover, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-19 national level cricket matches have also been organised in the stadium. Several international cricketers including Vinod Kambli, Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra, Gautam Gambhir and Ravichandran Ashwin have played in the stadium. The stadium, which has six galleries, can accommodate around 20,000 spectators.
Pradhan said day-night cricket matches of Sambalpur Premier League (SPL) are currently being organised in the stadium. However, we depend on temporary lights for organising the matches. The temporary lighting arrangement has been made at a cost of around `3.5 lakh. A lot of money can be saved once the floodlights are installed, he said.