The famous tourist town Manali known for its immaculate beauty will have its first ice hockey stadium in the state.
Ice Hockey Stadium will be constructed on the premises of the Atal Bihari Mountaineering Institute at Manali with an estimated cost of ₹70 Crore. With an aim to give impetus to the winter sports activities in Himachal Pradesh, the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Netherlands-based company during the recently concluded ‘Rising Himachal Global Investors Meet’ in Dharamshala where more than 1700 investors across the country and globe gathered. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged entrepreneurs to invest in Himachal Pradesh and further assured support from his government.
The proposed stadium in Manali will be constructed on Private Public Partnership model.
‘The stadium will be constructed in such a way that it will have ice throughout the year to carry the winter sports activity,’ said Director of Atal Bihari Mountaineering Institute Neeraj Rana.
‘Ice hockey stadium will provide an opportunity for the youth of the state to excel in winter sports and compete internationally ‘ concluded Rana. A team of experts from the Netherlands will visit Manali in the month of January 2020 and further a master plan will be prepared for the construction of Ice hockey rink in Manali.
Currently, only Shimla has an Ice Skating Rink in the country. The ice skating season in Shimla usually starts in December and goes on till February. The Ice skating sessions take place twice in a day, in the evening and morning. The rink provides membership on a short term and long term basis to its members. Ice skating Club Shimla holds festivities and feasts for the members during the winter carnival.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur earlier his year had urged Director of Ice Worlds in Netherland to explore the possibility of upgrading the ice skating rink in Shimla into all-weather winter sports stadium. Thakur during his visit to Germany and Netherland had met the representatives of the company keen to promote Winter Sports stadium in Himachal.
{{/usCountry}}Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur earlier his year had urged Director of Ice Worlds in Netherland to explore the possibility of upgrading the ice skating rink in Shimla into all-weather winter sports stadium. Thakur during his visit to Germany and Netherland had met the representatives of the company keen to promote Winter Sports stadium in Himachal.
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