Balewadi Stadium

The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium is a multi-purpose sports complex, located in the Balewadi area of Pune, India. The complex houses a football and hockey field, tennis courts, badminton courts, a swimming and diving arena, badminton courts, cycling track, shooting range and an indoor basketball court.

The football stadium is the home ground of the FC Pune City of the Indian Super League and DSK Shivajians of the I-League. The stadium is part of the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex and has a capacity of 10,900.

History

This complex was built in 1994 for the National Games 1994 which were hosted by Pune and the continued use to this day is testament to the legacy of the Athletics Tournaments.

The multi-purpose stadium took approximately three years to build and it features international standard athletics track around the perimeter of the football pitch.

The stadium was originally capable of accommodating 20,000 supporters but the official capacity is reduced to 12,000 following adjustments in line with developing health and safety recommendations.

Major Matches

The Balewadi Stadium has hosted several international matches of the Indian national team, including a 3-1 victory against Vietnam back in October 2010. More recently, Indian recorded a 0-0 draw against Nepal on the 31st August 2015.

Renovation

The Shree Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Stadium in Balewadi is up for a renovation for the third time since it was built in 1994. Earlier it was used as a multipurpose hall, gymnastics and boxing hall but after the renovation it is capable of hosting seven new sports facilities, including athletics, wrestling and badminton, which were added for the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2008.

At times, the stadium was rented out for private events like weddings, entertainment programmes and award ceremonies. This was having an impact on the sportspersons practicing at the venue.

The existing infrastructure will be changed in such a way that it will house a mall and restaurant, and other entertainment facilities along with the sports complex. A total amount of Rs 1,500 crore will be spent on the project.