SCA president Jaydev Shah tells mid-day that the idea came after several washouts due to erratic monsoons; SCA in talks with a French company for the work
Rajkot Stadium
Rajkot: After creating a replica of the Lord's Cricket Ground's media box here, the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) is getting ready to build the country's first cricket stadium with a roof.
With the Gujarat Cricket Association building the world's largest cricket stadium with a capacity of over one lakh in Ahmedabad, authorities at the SCA Stadium in Khanderi are mulling an all-weather-proof cricket stadium. The idea took shape after an erratic monsoon forced many matches to be washed out across the country in the last few seasons.
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"Since the monsoons here are very unpredictable, we have seen a lot of matches—domestic and internationals—getting washed out. So, we had a look at the various kinds of roofs we can go in for. One is a retractable one [like the one at Wimbledon] and the other is a permanent roof, resembling a dome. We are working on the feasibility of both. It's not that we want a roof just for the sake of it or to be different from others. This will be a very carefully taken decision as the cost involved is huge. We must also take into account hosting maximum number of international matches here to make it a feasible investment. Then there are various factors like the placement of floodlights, etc that need to be considered as well. It's a French company that we are in talks with," SCA president Jaydev Shah told mid-day on Thursday.
Jaydev Shah
Shah, a former Saurashtra Ranji Trophy captain, also revealed that a new 17-acre plot adjoining the present stadium had been purchased by SCA. "We are planning to build a new stadium there. It will be a multipurpose stadium with a capacity of around 15,000 to 20,000. Some are suggesting that we have the roof on that stadium, while others feel we should have a roof on the existing stadium. We are working on the cost factor for both stadiums. As an experiment, we will first try and build a dome roof over the 25 practice pitches [located behind the main ground]. We have to also consider how the pitch and grass would behave in the absence of direct sunlight," added Shah.
28,000 - Capacity of Rajkot stadium
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