Noida to get new sports complex

A state-of-the-art sports stadium with an international-standard running track, boxing and badminton courts and other indoor facilities is set to come up in Sector 123. With the lone stadium in Sector 21A currently overcrowded, the new sports complex is expected to provide sportspersons and young athletes with advanced training space for the Olympics and other international events. Noida Authority CEO Lokesh M has given in-principle approval to the project and Orionn Architects, hired as the consultant, prepared a draft design for the complex. The 26.5-acre sports complex, to be developed in phases, will see an initial investment of Rs 70 crore. In the first phase, work will start on 14.9 acres, which will include a 400-metre running track. The Authority will collaborate with the Sports Authority of India for a global certification for the track. In the second leg, indoor sports facilities will be developed on 11.3 acres with an additional investment of Rs 70 crore. Besides the running track, outdoor sports facilities will include a football ground, volleyball and tennis courts, as well as areas for javelin, shot put, pole vault, a parkour park and an open gym. The stadium complex will have boxing courts, a yoga room, a swimming pool, a gym, badminton courts and table tennis courts for indoor sports. The complex will have a multi-purpose hall with a seating capacity of 400. It will also have parking space for around 150 cars and a separate two-wheeler parking too. A tender to hire a construction agency for the project will be floated soon. The Sector 123 site, where the sports complex is to come up, was originally intended to be a dumping ground. After stiff opposition from local residents and villagers, the proposed landfill was relocated, and a pit was covered. The land remained vacant since 2018 until the Noida Authority decided to repurpose it for sports activities, paving the way for this world-class sports complex.