Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Delhi)
 | |
| Full name | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | New Delhi, India |
| Owner | Delhi Development Authority |
| Operator | Indian Olympic Association |
| Capacity | 60,000 seats (sometimes only 34,230 tickets available for ISL) [1] |
| Field size | 106.0 m x 68.0 m |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1982 |
| Opened | 1983 |
| Renovated | 2010 |
| Architect | Gerkan, Marg and Partners[2] |
| Tenants | |
|
India national football team (2011–present) Delhi Dynamos FC (2014–present) 1982 Asian Games 2010 Commonwealth Games | |
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Hindi: जवाहरलाल नेहरू स्टेडियम), in New Delhi, India, is a multipurpose sports arena hosting football and other sporting events, as well as large-scale entertainment events. It is named after the first Prime Minister of India.
The all-seater facility seats 60,000 spectators,[3] and up to 100,000 for concerts. In terms of seating capacity, it is the fourth largest multipurpose stadium in India and the 51st largest in the world. The stadium complex also houses the headquarters of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the field arm of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India,[4] and Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
History
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was constructed by the Government of India to host the 9th Asian Games in 1982, following which it hosted the 1989 Asian Championships in Athletics and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. In preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the stadium reduced its capacity from 78,000 to 60,254 spectators.
Concerts
The stadium played host to Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! Benefit Concert on 30 September 1988. The show was headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel, and also featured Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tracy Chapman, Youssou N'Dour, and Ravi Shankar.
The project was led and managed by Mr. Ramji Lal from CPWD.
Michael Jackson was scheduled to perform 2 concerts at the stadium in December 1993 as a part of his Dangerous World Tour. Some tickets were also sold. This would have been the first time Jackson would have performed in India. MTV India and other T.V. channels played Jackson's music videos months before the concert which created mass hysteria and anticipation in the public for the concerts and Jackson's visit to India. Both the concerts were expected to be sold out. These two concerts were scheduled to be the last performances of the tour. Unfortunately the concerts in Delhi along with the dates for Indonesia and Australia were cancelled due to Jackson's health problems.
Cricket
The Stadium has hosted two One Day International matches featuring India against Australia in 1984 which incidentally, was the first day night one day international in India.[5] and South Africa in 1991, again the fixture being a day night one. Batsman Kepler Wessels played in both the matches but for different countries and scored 107 for Australia and 90 for South Africa. [6]
A special feature was the running track being used as a part of the cricket playing area, which the ICC playing regulations eventually discontinued and thus the stadium was felt no longer suitable for cricket.
ODI matches hosted
| Team (A) | Team (B) | Winner | Margin | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 India |  Australia | Australia | By 48 runs | 1984 |
| India |  South Africa | South Africa | By 8 wickets | 1991 |
Football
Some local National Football League (now defunct) matches have also been played here. The stadium was the main venue for the 2011 South Asian Football Federation Cup.
On 10 January 2012, the Government of India, and Audi, co-hosted a friendly football exhibition match between the Indian National Football Team and Bayern Munich at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. In this one-sided affair, the German club has defeated Indian team by 4-0 in front of 30,000 spectators. This was the farewell match to Baichung Bhutia as Indian National Football Team captain.
Since 2014 Indian Super League season, it has been home ground for Delhi Dynamos FC.
2010 Commonwealth Games
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was the main venue for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies as well as athletics events for the Delhi Games.
The stadium underwent massive redesign and reconstruction for the biggest multi-sport event hosted by India to that date. It was opened to the general public on 27 July 2010.
In July 2010, the first-ever Asian All Asian Athletics Championship was held. Over 1,500 students from schools came to see the event. The opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games has been held. Security for the ceremony used NSG, CRPF and Delhi police personnel. Tickets were checked by electronic ticket checking machine similar to the ones used in the Delhi Metro. There are over 350 CCTV cameras in the venue. Delhi was closed, in the sense that all the malls, shops, offices, and call-centers in Delhi were closed before and during the ceremony.
2013 South Asian Games
The 2013 South Asian Games were to be held at stadium but games witnessed a change in the original host country, and faced delays which pushed back the conduct of the Games by several months.[7]
Renovation
The design is similar to Foshan Stadium in China, built by the same designers. In case of emergency, the construction allows spectators to evacuate within 6 minutes.
The stadium was given a new roof, improved seating, and other facilities to meet international standards as it hosts the athletic events and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The 53,800 m² Teflon-coated roof, designed by Schlaich Bergermann & Partner, was built at a cost of ₹ 308 Crore.[8] Taiyo Membrane Corporation supplied and installed the PTFE glass fibre fabric roof. 8,500 tonnes of steel were used in the construction of the stadium's roof and its support structure. The support structure for the new roof is similar to London's Olympic Stadium.
A new Electro-Voice professional audio system by Bosch Communications.[9]
A new 10-lane synthetic track, synthetic warm-up track, and a synthetic lawn ball field were added. Two new venues were constructed next to the stadium for the Games: four synthetic greens for the lawn bowls event and a 2,500-seat gymnasium for the weightlifting event. A 400-metre warm-up track was also constructed.
Nearly 4,000 labourers worked in double shifts to finish the stadium in time. A 150m long tunnel was constructed for the opening and closing ceremonies.[10]
Home of Indian National Football Team
The Indian team will play its home matches in the Nehru Stadium after it was handed over by Sports Ministry to the AIFF.[11]
India's first match in the new stadium was to be played against UAE in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification play-off in July 2011.[12]
However, this match was shifted to Ambedkar Stadium because of the unplayable conditions at the Nehru stadium.[13]
The 2011 SAFF Cup was held here from 2 - 11 Dec 2011, with the Indian team emerging victorious.
The 2012 Nehru Cup was held from 23 August to 2 September at this venue.
References
- ↑ http://www.worldofstadiums.com/asia/india/jawaharlal-nehru-stadium-new-delhi/
- ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/human-quality-in-architecture/article2275289.ece
- ↑ Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex
- ↑ "Sports Authority Of India" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-08-13.
- ↑ Wisden Almanack
- ↑ Wisden Almanack 1991
- ↑ "Delhi to host 2012 South Asian Games". The Economic Times. 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ↑ Sobhana K (19 January 2010). "Nehru stadium work enters last lap". Express India. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
- ↑ Rahul Tripathi (5 October 2010). "JNS audio system heard loud and clear". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
- ↑ http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20100402/377/tsp-jawaharlal-nehru-stadium-will-be-rea.html. Retrieved 10 April 2010. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Nehru stadium to turn into football hub: Maken". The Times of India. 15 April 2011.
- ↑ http://the-aiff.com/pages/news/index.php?N_Id=2540
- ↑ "Indian National Team: Ambedkar Stadium To Host India V UAE 2014 World Cup Qualifier". Retrieved 28 June 2011.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. |
- Football temples of the world - India
- Cricinfo - Grounds - Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
- World Stadiums Article
Coordinates: 28°34′58″N 77°14′04″E / 28.582873°N 77.23438°E
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