THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when several sports venues across the state are receiving a facelift with the impending 35th National Games in mind, the plight of one stadium in the heart of the capital city is as unfortunate as it would get.
The Central Stadium, situated behind the Secretariat, holds tremendous potential - commercial, owing to its location; and sporting, simply owing to the lack of a proper football ground in this part of the state.
As per the initial plans mooted by the previous LDF government, the redeveloped stadium was to come up along with other stadiums being prepared for the Games.
But the renovation of the stadium and the dreams of a multitude of sports fans both hit a stumbling block after no company responded to the tender floated by the National Games Secretariat to redevelop the stadium as part of the Games.
“Along with the Trivandrum International Stadium, Kariavattom, the Central Stadium was also supposed to be renovated under the National Games banner,” said S Najumuddin, additional director of Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Kerala.
“A tender of Rs 123 crore was floated along with the Kariavattom stadium, but no companies came forward to adhere to the public-private partnership model, with the company having to return the stadium to the government after 15 years,” he said. The redesign of the stadium included an increased capacity of 15,000 spectators with a main pavilion, a permanent VIP lounge and retail spaces and three new gates modelled on the architecture of the Secretariat complex itself.
In addition, the redesigned stadium was also to address the problem of lack of parking spaces in the city with an underground parking area that would have accommodated 1,200 cars.
However, having produced little or no interest, the government officials now say the redevelopment has to start from the scratch. And the Kerala State Sports Council, the owner of the stadium, plans to initiate the process immediately after the conclusion of the Games.
“The construction of the stadium would go ahead adopting the annuity model at a cost of around Rs 100 crore. We will have a football ground, 400 m synthetic athletics track and a fitness centre,” said Binu George Varghese, secretary of the Kerala State Sports Council.
“Additionally, the stadium complex can also house the offices of various sports associations as well as the headquarters of the Sports Council,” he added.
