New Motera Stadium to have 4 dressing rooms, LED lights for better visibility in pink-ball Test

The newly-installed LED floodlights at refurbished Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera will eliminate shadows, making it easier to spot the aerial balls during the upcoming day/night Test between India and England, starting February 24.

The world’s largest cricket stadium will also have 11 centre strips, which is also unique, along with never-before heard four dressing rooms with in-built gymnasium, said Gujarat Cricket Association’s joint secretary Anil Patel.

The Motera stadium had undergone extensive renovation which started when current BCCI secretary Jay Shah was in charge of state cricket unit.

With a seating capacity of 1,10,000, which is more than Melbourne Cricket Ground, the GCA will put up around 55,000 tickets on sale for the next two Test matches at the venue.

Recently, the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy’s knock-outs were held at the Motera.

“This is the only stadium in the



world with 11 centre pitches on the main ground. Also we are the only stadium in the world with same soil being used for practice as well as centre strips,” GCA joint secretary Patel said.

“Instead of mast lights, we have installed LED lights on the entire circular roof for better visibility and to eliminate shadows,” he said.

Patel also said that state-of-the-art drainage system will help the ground dry up in quick time in case of a heavy downpour.

“Sand has been used underneath the grass. This along with a state-of-the-art drainage system will remove the rain water very quickly in comparison to other regular grounds.

“Even in case of 8 cm of rainfall during a match, the water would drain out very fast. This will reduce the chances of matches being cancelled due to rain,” said Patel.

He added that equipments worth Rs 2 crore were purchased just for the upkeep of the ground.