Odisha to construct world-class hockey stadium at Rourkela

    (Eds: Changing a word in para 2)
    Bhubaneswar, Dec 24 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik on Thursday announced that a new world-class hockey
stadium would be constructed at Rourkela in Sundargarh
district as part of preparations for the 2023 Hockey World Cup
which will be hosted by the state.
    The proposed stadium would be the largest hockey
stadium in India with a seating capacity for 20,000 people.
This is going to redefine the sports landscape in the region,
the chief minister said.
    The stadium along with the allied facilities will be
developed as a benchmark for other hockey stadiums around the
world, he said, adding that it would be constructed over 15
acres of land in the Biju Patnaik University of Technology
campus in Rourkela.
    Announcing this in a video message, Patnaik said: “As
we have announced earlier, Odisha will once again be the proud
host of the prestigious Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2023.”
    The tournament will be organized both in Bhubaneswar
and Rourkela, he said.
    Patnaik said Sundergarh district is a powerhouse of
hockey talent in the country and many great hockey players
from the district have represented the country at the
international level.
    The Indian hockey team was led by players like Dilip
Tirkey and Sunita Lakra who hailed from Sundergarh district.
    “Popularity of hockey can be seen across the district.
The support of people of the district to hockey players is
unparalleled anywhere in the world,” Patnaik said.
    He said: “As a tribute to the contribution of
Sundergarh to Indian Hockey, I would like to announce that we
will build a new International level Hockey Stadium in
Rourkela with a seating capacity of 20,000.”
    The stadium will have all the modern amenities and
will offer a unique experience, Patnaik said. “I hope it will
emerge as the best venue for hockey in the World”, he said
    Recently, a high-level team including senior officials
from the state government, International Federation of Hockey
(FIH), Department of Sports and Youth Services and Hockey
India had visited Rourkela to review the infrastructure and
allied facilities in the steel city for hosting the
prestigious hockey world cup.
    The work to develop synthetic hockey turf in each of
the 17 blocks of Sundargarh district has already commenced,
sources said. PTI AAM RG
RG RG