The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) intends to develop a new cricket stadium in Mumbai with a seating capacity of one lakh people. Currently, the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad is the largest cricket stadium in India and the world with a capacity of over 1 lakh 30 thousand people.
MCA intends to develop a new stadium in Thane district, 68 kilometers away from the Wankhede Stadium.
According to Times of India reports, the new stadium would be erected on 50 acres of open space near Amane Village. MCA has submitted the open tender offered by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to acquire the land and is awaiting Maharashtra government approval for the project.
The new stadium is considered to be the passion project of former MCA President Amol Kale, who died last month.
At present, Mumbai is the home of three international cricket stadiums: Wankhede Stadium (33,000), Brabourne Stadium (20,000), and DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai (45,000).
Mumbai deserves a new cricket stadium with a capacity of over one lakh- Devendra Fadnavis
One of the oldest cricket stadiums in India is the Brabourne Stadium, founded in 1933. Wankhede stadium was built in 1974 and the newest is the DY Patil Ground, which was built around 2008 and inaugurated on 4 March 2008 during IPL that year.
The new stadium report came a day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis advocated for a larger stadium in the city during the felicitation ceremony for Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the Maharashtra state assembly.
“We have one of the historic stadiums in Mumbai in the form of Wankhede Stadium. Ashish Ji (BCCI treasurer and BJP MLA Ashish Shelar) is here. Mumbai needs a bigger stadium than Wankhede. Therefore, in the near future, our chief minister will extend all possible help to MCA and BCCI. Wankhede is a historic stadium and cannot be compared to any other. But it is time to give Mumbai a stadium with a capacity of more than one lakh,” said Fadnavis.
The legendary Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai hosted the 2011 ODI World Cup final and the first semi-final of the 2023 ODI World Cup. In addition, the venue hosted the second semi-finals of both the 1987 ODI World Cup and the 2016 T20 World Cup.
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