Pay to play at Greater Noida stadium

The Greater Noida stadium, which opened to public in December last year, will now have a ‘pay and play’ policy to make sure residents get fair and quality sports facilities, said the local authority.

The Greater Noida stadium, which opened to public in December last year, will now have a ‘pay and play’ policy to make sure residents get fair and quality sports facilities, said the local authority.

The Greater Noida stadium opened to public in December last year. (Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

The stadium boasts of an Olympic-size swimming pool, badminton courts, a football ground, squash courts, billiards tables and a skating rink, among other facilities.

The authority is planning to create a website of the stadium and connect it to a smartphone application so that residents can book time slots for a particular sport and play hassle free.

The app-based slot booking facility aims to cater to the upwardly mobile population living in Noida and Greater Noida, officials said.

“Anyone who wants to play a game at the stadium will have to book a slot through the app or the website. We want to use a mobile app to maintain transparency and accountability in our operations and to give equal opportunity to everybody who is interested in using the facilities,” said Rajiv Tyagi, general manager of the Noida authority.

“Hopefully we will be able to select the agency in the next two-three months and the website and the app will begin operations by the end of 2016,” said another official.

However, the authority is yet to finalise fee structure for all sports facilities and the amount needed to be paid to play a game at the stadium.

The Olympic-size swimming pool at the Greater Nodia stadium.

The Greater Noida stadium, spread across 39 acres, has a cricket ground with a sitting capacity of 10,000 people. It hosted the inter-continental cup between Afghanistan and Namibia, and Afghanistan and Zimbabwe for the under 19 (A) team. The Ranji match between Uttar Pradesh and Baroda was played here. The stadium is also hosting the ongoing Duleep Trophy.

It has a 12-lane bowling area as per the international standards with the other supplementary facilities such as a changing room for players, toilets, and a tennis stadium with 2,200 spectator capacity. There are four tennis courts, two volley ball courts and two basketball courts among the dedicated facilities for other sports.

“We want the stadium to contribute in grooming sports talent and bring laurels to the country at the international level,” said Deepak Agarwal, Greater Noida authority’s chief executive officer.