KOCHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi is rapidly falling out of favour as a sporting arena — and risks turning into a white elephant. The massive venue, which has been reduced to hosting home matches of Kerala Blasters FC, in the Indian Super League (ISL) and Forca Kochi FC, in the Super League Kerala, has remained under-utilised for a while. And now, with the uncertainty surrounding ISL, the stadium — which considering its location and size was once billed a theatre of dreams — risks slipping into further disuse.
Opened in 1996, the stadium has seen better days: It has hosted cricket ODI matches, FIFA U-17 World Cup games and domestic tournaments like the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL), as the home ground of the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise. The Blasters moved in in 2014.
Despite the rich legacy, high maintenance costs and rentals, and long-unresolved safety and security concerns are deterring organisers from hosting major sports events at the venue. Even during the previous ISL season, Blasters officials talked of difficulties in meeting the rent for the stadium and conveyed plans to move to another location — either partially or permanently.
The club also faced issues in acquiring the Premier 1 licence for the 2025-26 season, which the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) attributed to safety concerns at its home ground. Moreover, Forca Kochi FC has also confirmed their move to Maharaja’s College Ground from this season, citing the Kaloor stadium’s hefty costs and poor avenues for fan engagement.
The stadium, originally built as a cricketing venue, has a circular turf which is not ideal for football matches — with the galleries far removed from the field of play. Football thrives on the interactions between players and fans and the JLN stadium’s inability to fully capture the atmospherics and emotions has been widely panned.
Fall from grace
Although there were reports in 2014 that the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) had leased the stadium for 30 years, cricket is no longer on the agenda, having moved out a long while back to locations like the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Even in the government’s plans to host two international football friendlies as part of its ‘Argentina’ project, the games were proposed to be staged in Thiruvananthapuram.
Even while questions are being raised about the future of JLN stadium, its owners, Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), are planning to utilise the venue for more non-sporting activities. “Kerala Blasters are currently using the stadium as their home ground, but we are open to more teams. We want to fully utilise the ground so that it makes good economic sense. We are now seriously considering using the stadium for non-sporting events as well, without affecting the pitch and other facilities,” K Chandran Pillai, chairperson of GCDA, told TNIE.
Cost & safety concerns
“Affordability is one of the main reasons driving organisers of sporting events away from the Kaloor stadium. We are developing the 17,000-capacity Ambedkar stadium nearby with this in mind. It is virtually impossible to lower prices to make the venue more inviting,” he added.
At the same time, there is widespread talk of safety concerns playing a part in the stadium not attracting major sporting events. “The JLN Stadium has been dogged by structural and other safety worries. From the roof to smoke detectors to pillars in the stadium — everything is faulty or in bad condition” said social activist Pauly Vadakkan.