Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai)

The stadium was built on the area where the old Madras Zoo was located before it was shifted to its present location in at Vandalur.[3] It was known as the Corporation stadium until the 1980s and used to witness houseful audience for even the city league matches. When C. R. Viswanathan, then the Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Football Association, was keen on bringing the Nehru Cup international football tournament to Chennai, a stadium of international standard was required. He approached the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa with a plan to convert the old Corporation stadium into a brand-new ultra-modern facility.[4] The Chief Minister soon gave her approval[5] and the new stadium was built in 1993, within a span of 234 days, at a cost of ₹440 million (US$6.2 million).[1] In January 1993, the competition was conducted successfully in the new facility that was acknowledged to be arguably the best in the country also doubling up as a track and field venue.[5] In 2012, the Government of Tamil Nadu renovated the indoor stadium at a cost of ₹120 million (US$1.7 million) with a new skating rink.[6] In 2013, Government of Tamil Nadu upgraded the synthetic athletics track, football turf, floodlights and upgrading added a warm-up track north of the stadium at a cost of ₹331 million (US$4.6 million).[1][7]

Panoramic view of the stadium

In 1993, this stadium in Chennai hosted the Nehru Cup international tournament. It has also hosted the SAF Games football in 1995, and the Jayalalitha Gold Cup international women's tournament,[8] and many pre-Olympic and pre-world cup matches.

The Nehru stadium at Chennai is considered the most favored venue for any international fixture since this stadium is the only football facility in the country which has come up in keeping with the FIFA specifications with regard to the players’ facility, the dressing rooms and security aspects to name a few important parameters.

The stadium has a seating capacity of 40,000 with a 400-meter 8-lane synthetic athletics track and a natural football turf. There is an indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 5000 associated with the stadium. Two Beach Volleyball courts, three clay Volleyball courts, one Throw ball court, one Kabaddi field and one Handball court are also available in the complex. There are also facilities for Judo, Weightlifting, Table Tennis, Boxing, Chess and Carrom besides a Fitness Center and a conference hall. The indoor stadium hosts various functions and concerts.[9][10]

The stadium hosted nine cricket Test matches between 1956 and 1965.[2] In 1998, it hosted the World Volleyball Grand Prix tournament.[11][12]

• List of stadiums in India
• List of Test cricket grounds