Features of the new stadium
The 75-acre stadium will include a cricket ground, athletics track and field of 400 metres, indoor sports arena for badminton, basketball, volleyball, table tennis and others, an Olympic-size swimming pool, changing rooms, shower room, toilets, diving pool and practice pool meant for aspiring swimmers.
Apart from retail shops, restaurants and basement parking area, a convention centre, including an auditorium, exhibition halls, hall of fame and conference seminar rooms will be made. It will also include a medical centre, fitness centre, nutrition centre, athletics hostel, physiotherapy centre and more.
Karnataka will soon have the second largest cricket stadium after Gujarat in Indlawadi village, Surya Nagar 4th phase, in Anekal Taluk.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced this after laying the foundation stone for an international cricket stadium and sports complex on Saturday (May 23, 2026) morning, in a programme organised by the Housing Department and the Karnataka Housing Board at Suryanagar.
The stadium will have a capacity to seat 80,000 people along with other amenities for players and viewers. At present, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with a seating capacity of 90,000 people, is the largest stadium in India.
4,000 acres acquired
“A total of 4,000 acres have been acquired from farmers of which 75 acres will be used to construct an international cricket stadium and the rest will be used to build houses and plots which will be allocated to farmers as well as other applicants. By taking the initiative to build an international standard stadium in Suryanagar, we have paved the way for the comprehensive development of this area from all aspects including sports, tourism, job creation and economic growth,” said Mr. Siddaramaiah.
He added, “After the stampede at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru claimed 11 lives during the RCB victory celebrations, we decided to construct a bigger stadium that has a large seating capacity. Ours will be the second largest stadium in India. It was a much-needed infrastructure for the State to encourage sports and give opportunities for young talent in the State and country.”
The move comes despite opposition from a section of farmers and environmentalists. Farmers had said that the area for the proposed stadium lies in proximity to the Karadikkal-Mahadeshwara wildlife corridor, and that building a huge stadium in this area would have an adverse impact on the environment and wildlife.
But the CM justified the decision and said, “The land value was low here before the acquisition of land by the government to build the stadium, which has now doubled. In the coming days, a Games village (Kreeda Grama) will be also developed close to the stadium.”
Explaining that there will be no injustice done to the farmers whose properties were acquired, he said, “Each farmer will be provided land as per their surrendered size of land with a 50:50 share to the farmer and the government. They can sell it at higher prices as the prices have doubled now or construct on their property allocated to them.”
‘Namma Mane’ project
In addition to laying the foundation stone for the stadium, the Chief Minister also launched the ‘Namma Mane project’ by laying the foundation stone for the Surya Shine and Surya Divine housing programmes. He also gave site allocation documents symbolically to some of the applicants through lottery system.
Emphasising the role of the Housing Department in the state, the CM said, “The fact that the Housing Department and KHB, which were only building houses till now, are now moving forward with the construction of an 80,000-seat stadium is a vision of progress.”
He also assured that the Housing Department as well as the KHB would construct the stadium after auctioning vacant sites across the State. These sites were allotted to people, but due to non-payment, they will be auctioned to generate revenue. “It is estimated that KHB will earn ₹20,000 crore from the sale of vacant KHB sites. The money earned from this will be used for the construction of the stadium, which is estimated at ₹943 crore.”
In addition to the development of this area, administrative approval has also been given for the construction of the main road of Jigani Hobli connecting Suryanagar and other villages.
Mr. Shivakumar said, “By building this stadium and developing Suryanagar in Anekal, we assure Cauvery drinking water to every house, employment and sports complex in your neighbourhood.”
He also highlighted that this infrastructure development will definitely help ease Bengaluru traffic and bring international and national players to the stadium so that people are exposed to the ecosystem of sports.
Give Minister rank in the cabinet to Shivanna: supporters
Amidst reports of a cabinet reshuffle in the Karnataka government, a group of supporters raised slogans holding placards in support of Anekal MLA, B Shivanna, causing disruptions while CM Siddaramaiah was addressing people. They demanded that Mr. Siddaramaiah allot Shivanna a ministerial berth. However, the CM, who lost his cool, said, “Don’t you have common sense not to shout when I am delivering a speech? Allotting ministerial berths in the cabinet is a different matter altogether. We cannot discuss it here.”
Despite this, the supporters rushed to the exit to make the same demands and CM and DCM got into their cars at the end of the event.
Published – May 23, 2026 06:05 pm IST
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