Karnataka cabinet okays international cricket stadium in Anekal

mangaloretoday.com/DH news

Bengaluru, october 17, 2025: The Cabinet on Thursday gave ‘in-principle’ approval to construct an international-level cricket stadium and sports complex at Anekal taluk in Bengaluru Urban district, at an estimated cost of Rs 2,350 crore.

Addressing reporters after the meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil said, “The Cabinet has approved a proposal by the Housing Department to build the stadium and sports complex on 75 acres at Suryanagar Fourth Stage Extension Indlavadi village. We have directed the department to prepare a Detailed Project Report and viability study.”

This will likely be Karnataka’s third international cricket stadium, following the government’s April decision to construct one in Mysuru, alongside another under construction in Tumakuru.

Housing Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan said the stadium will have a seating capacity of 80,000 and include facilities for 24 indoor and outdoor sports, as well as a 3,000-seat auditorium. “With these world-class facilities, it will become one of the largest sports complexes in the country,” he added.

A document from the Housing Department highlighted that the existing M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru has a capacity of just 38,000, while smaller cities already boast larger stadiums. International-level cricket hasn’t been played at Chinnaswamy since June 2004, when a stampede following Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory claimed 11 lives. Relations between the Karnataka State Cricket Association and the government have remained strained since.

The Justice John Michael Cunha Commission, which investigated the 2004 stampede, had recommended relocating events to “better-suited” venues. In other decisions, the Cabinet approved providing input subsidies at higher rates than NDRF/SDRF guidelines for 12.82 lakh hectares of land damaged during recent heavy rainfall and floods in the state.