Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of India's largest hockey stadium in the steel city of Rourkela that would be finished on time before the next edition of men's Hockey World Cup in 2023.
Patnaik, who flew to Rourkela city in the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district, announced that the proposed international hockey stadium, with a seating capacity of more than 20,000 people, would be named after freedom fighter Birsa Munda.
"It would be the most modern field hockey facility in India. The stadium will be a new benchmark in global stadium design for hockey, offering one of the finest spectator experiences in the world," said Patnaik, who also launched various infrastructure development projects worth ₹4,915 crore in the district during his stay in Rourkela.
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The stadium will be a model of green, functional, cost-effective design. Designed to deliver the best match-day atmospheres in the world, each seat will have uninterrupted sightlines and the spectators will be closer to the pitch than at any other hockey stadium in the world, said state officials. The stadium would be completed within a year and would host matches of 2023 Hockey World Cup along with the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
{{/usCountry}}The stadium will be a model of green, functional, cost-effective design. Designed to deliver the best match-day atmospheres in the world, each seat will have uninterrupted sightlines and the spectators will be closer to the pitch than at any other hockey stadium in the world, said state officials. The stadium would be completed within a year and would host matches of 2023 Hockey World Cup along with the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
{{/usCountry}}In 2018, Odisha hosted the Men’s Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar's Kalinga stadium in which Belgium emerged as the champion after beating the Netherlands in the finals. India finished sixth in final ranking after getting eliminated in the quarterfinals. In 2014, Odisha hosted men's Hockey Champions Trophy.
CM Patnaik, who laid foundation stones of 17 hockey astroturfs last year in as many blocks of the Sundargarh district, said hockey is the identity of Sundergarh. "The hockey players of Sundergarh have earned fame for the nation. Hockey spirit is in the air and water of Sundergarh,” he said.
The chief minister's largesse for the tribal-dominated district Sundargarh fits with the BJD's gameplan of strengthening its base in the tribal area where the party has lost its popularity since the 2017 panchayat polls. Of the 35 zilla parishad seats, the party won 14 seats in 2017 panchayat polls and won just 2 MLA seats in 2019 Assembly polls. Its main rival, the BJP, won the MP seat as well as two Assembly seats. The BJP also won the Sundargarh zilla parishad polls in 2017.
Ahead of Tuesday's visit, the party had dispatched 90 MLAs and 17 ministers to Rourkela deploying them in almost all gram panchayats and asking them to show Patnaik's speech through giant LCD screens.