Narendra Modi Stadium

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Lore & Background

The stadium replaced Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, which hosted domestic and international cricket in the city until its demolition in 2015, including the 1987, 1996 and 2011 Cricket World Cups. In 2014, it was decided that a new stadium should be built on the same plot. The new stadium, originally named Motera Stadium, was designed by Populous and built by Larsen and Toubro. It took five years to build, at an estimated cost of ₹800 crore (US$83 million). After completion, the new arena replaced the Melbourne Cricket Ground as the world's largest cricket stadium. The stadium has four dressing rooms, 11 centre pitches, and two practice grounds. The practice grounds can also serve as venues for domestic matches. On 24 February 2020, the new stadium first opened to the public by hosting the Namaste Trump event, which saw an approximate attendance of 125,000 people. One year later, on 24 February 2021, the stadium was officially inaugurated by Indian president Ram Nath Kovind and renamed "Narendra Modi Stadium" in honour of Modi who had previously served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat (2001–2014) and President of the Gujarat Cricket Association (2009–2014). This ceremony took place just hours before the venue hosted its first-ever international cricket match—a day-night pink-ball Test between India and England.

In Their Own Story

The idea to build a new stadium was proposed by Narendra Modi himself who was the president of the Gujarat Cricket Association and the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the same time. Shortly before Modi moved to Delhi after becoming the prime minister of India, there were discussions about adding minor upgrades to the stadium and further developing areas of the structure at the pavilion end. Modi asked officials to build a new, larger stadium instead of pursuing minor renovation work. In October 2015, the stadium was demolished for reconstruction, though some media referred to it as a renovation. The total cost of reconstruction was estimated to be ₹700 crores (₹7 billion (US$73 million)). However, the final cost was reported at ₹800 crore (US$83 million). The redevelopment, originally planned to be completed in 2019, finished in February 2020. After starting demolition work at the end of 2015, the GCA issued a request for tender on 1 January 2016 in The Times of India and The Indian Express. Nine bidders showed interest and purchased the tender documents, out of which three submitted technical and financial bids on time; they were the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Nagarjuna Construction Company, and Larsen & Toubro (L&T). In the end, Larsen & Turbo was selected as the stadium's principal contractor. L&T took over the construction work of the stadium in December 2016. On 16 January 2017, the Gujarat Cricket Association oversaw the project, which formally began on the same day. The stadium was planned to be finished in 2 years, and the reconstruction project was estimated to cost around ₹700 crore ($93 million). Final completion of the stadium was finished in February 2020, and it hosted an England-India day-night test match in 2021.

Reader's Guide

The stadium later became the home ground of IPL team Gujarat Titans and hosted the 2022, 2023, and 2025 IPL Finals. The stadium also hosted five matches of the 2023 Cricket World Cup, including the opening and final games, as well as high-profile matches pitting India against Pakistan and Australia against England. British rock band Coldplay played two shows at the stadium on 25 and 26 January 2025, as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour. The stadium is built on 63 acres of land and has four entry points, with a metro line at one of the entry points. It has 76 corporate boxes that can hold 25 persons each, a 55-room clubhouse, an Olympic size swimming pool, and four dressing rooms. A food court and hospitality area are available in each spectator stand. The stadium also includes an indoor cricket academy and practice pitches, with dormitories for 40 athletes. The stands generally follow a two-tier structure; however, there is a three-tier main pavilion. The two-tier structure is supported from beneath by numerous Y-shaped columns, which eliminate the need for pillars and thus give spectators an unobstructed view of the entire field from all parts of the stadium. An LED light system lines the stadium roof's inside edge. This eliminates the need for floodlights and helps reduce shadows on the pitch. The LED lights are installed on an antibacterial, fireproof canopy with PTFE membrane that covers 30 metres (98 ft) out of 55 metres (180 ft) width of the seating area. The roof was installed by Walter P. Moore, and was specifically designed to be lightweight and separate from the seating bowls in order to improve earthquake resistance. The ground has 11 center pitches. The playing field has sensors to detect the need for water for the grass, which can automatically activate 67 fully automated underground pop-up sprinklers. The ground surface is made of Bermuda grass. The stadium has an extensive drainage system. The stadium premises have many facilities, including an indoor cricket practice area, badminton, tennis, and squash courts, a table tennis area, a 3D projector theatre, three practice grounds, and 50 rooms. The parking lot can accommodate 3,000 cars and 10,000 two-wheelers. A ramp leading to the stadium is designed to facilitate the movement of around 60,000 people simultaneously. The arena has been designed in such a way that the upper stands can remain empty (such as during smaller events) while maintaining a sufficient crowd atmosphere. However, a game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2024 saw a near houseful crowd of over 1 lakh.

Did You Know?

• The stadium has four dressing rooms, 11 centre pitches, and two practice grounds that can also serve as venues for domestic matches.
• The roof was installed by Walter P. Moore and was specifically designed to be lightweight and separate from the seating bowls to improve earthquake resistance.
• The playing field has sensors that can automatically activate 67 fully automated underground pop-up sprinklers to water the Bermuda grass.
• The parking lot can accommodate 3,000 cars and 10,000 two-wheelers.
• A ramp leading to the stadium is designed to facilitate the movement of around 60,000 people simultaneously.