The Kerala Sports Council honchos are sitting on a proposal to take over the stadium, by citing technical issues. Kottayam: The much hyped indoor stadium at Nagambadam remains a one-tourney venue. The stadium built at a cost of Rs 17 crore a year ago has never been opened since a women’s basketball championship two months ago.
The Kerala Sports Council honchos are sitting on a proposal to take over the stadium, by citing technical issues. A decision has to be taken by the sports minister and the Sports Council president and secretary.
With a capacity of 2,000 spectators, the stadium is big enough to host a national event but it lacks centralized air-conditioning and other essential facilities. The basketball tournament was a pathetic sight, when players and the audience seated it out as the organizers arranged a small air cooler to make up for the absence of the A/C. Fortunately, the stadium had received electricity connection just in time for the event.
Air-conditioning was not included in the original building contract, according to the contractors. The plan, however, is unlikely to have been approved without air-conditioning as the original plan itself had made provisions for closed windows in anticipation of air-conditioning. Installing an A/C would cost at least Rs 1 crore.
The previous government had approved of a slew of projects including the restoration of a canal around the stadium, building of a compound wall and the laying of a walking track around the stadium. The project is expected to cost Rs 3.5 crore.
Even this project is held up for no particular reason. The stadium finds it difficult to pay the monthly electricity bills that run up to Rs 1.5 lakh per month, leaving it in no comfortable situation to plan A/C.
The stadium is guarded by a sole personnel, leaving the premises for anti-social elements and stray dogs.
Kottayam could take a leaf out of the adjacent Pala municipality, which runs a similar indoor stadium by itself. The municipality rents out the stadium for sports events.
The Kottayam stadium has provisions for a healthcare facility and a hostel for 50 persons. As many as 270 cars and 100 motorcycles can be parked on the premises.
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