Ahmedabad: Every week, behind closed doors at Gujarat’s secretariat in Gandhinagar, top officials gather with one agenda: sports infrastructure. Timelines, tenders, manpower gaps, everything is thrashed out in detail. Big plans are afoot and the clock is ticking.
Earlier this month, a high-level delegation from Gujarat flew to London for ‘strategic talks’ on hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games. It’s a stepping stone to the Olympics, but also part of a larger bid to crown Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar as India’s sports capital.
At the weekly reviews, chaired by the state sports secretary, senior officials from the Sports Authority of Gujarat, the Municipal Corporation, and Gujarat Sports Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd go over the progress of stadiums under construction and events in the pipeline. The pressure is palpable.
“We’re asked about everything—tenders, deadlines, coordination. If anything’s stuck, it gets resolved then and there,” said an official working on projects like the Para High Performance Centre and sports clubs. “There’s urgency at every level.”
State government officials are clocking way beyond their standard hours.
“It’s no longer a 9 to 5 job,” said another official with the Sports Authority of Gujarat, who is also involved with the Para Centre. “We’re doing 11-12 hour shifts regularly. But it’s paying off. Several projects are hitting their targets.”
With projects like the Naranpura Sports Complex, Para High Performance Centre, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, the city is not just constructing venues but making a larger pitch: to de-hyphenate Delhi and Mumbai from big ticket sporting events.
Ahmedabad is eyeing events like the Asian Weightlifting Championship (2026), the Asian Aquatics and Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships (2025), and the U20 World Athletics Championship (2028). It already has the world’s largest cricket stadium, which not only hosted the ICC World Cup final but also concerts, including one by Coldplay. The venue, the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, was widely praised for its seamless infrastructure during both events.
During his London visit from 7-9 June, state Sports Minister Harsh Sanghavi said Gujarat’s Commonwealth Games bid was built around “long-term impact rather than short-term spectacle”. The state will submit its formal proposal by 31 August. A decision is expected in November.
Had a productive meeting with Commonwealth Sports senior office bearer & officials! PT Usha ji, President of IOA, along with other officials from the Union and State Government, were present. We had a great conversation and exchanged valuable insights. pic.twitter.com/yKHnr6L4ll
— Harsh Sanghavi (@sanghaviharsh) June 7, 2025
Earlier this year, Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Katie Sadleir toured various Indian cities, including Ahmedabad. She praised India’s “transformational” work on sports infra and said hosting the Commonwealth Games would be “the right step” towards that goal.
“A single department is not doing this work. The government wants to see Ahmedabad as the sports capital, and many departments are working on it. An overall sports culture is also being developed. Zone-wise, one sports complex is being built,” said M Thennarasan, Secretary of the state Sports, Youth & Cultural Activities Department. “We are making sure that we tick every box.”
The state’s annual sports budget has shot up to Rs 521 crore in 2025-26, up from Rs 352 crore in 2024. In 2002, it was reportedly just Rs 2.5 crore.
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Gujarat Model of Sports Development
The Gujarat model of sports development is a relay between departments, from the Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG) to the Gujarat Cricket Association to the Municipal Corporation. There’s also a well-oiled governance structure in place.
Different nodal bodies handle different parts of the job. SAG manages state-level planning and implementation of infrastructure work. In late 2023, the government also set up a special purpose vehicle, the Gujarat Olympic Planning and Infrastructure Corporation Ltd, to lead the Olympic effort. The company, now renamed Gujarat Sports Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (GSIDCL), has its office inside the Sports Authority building in Gandhinagar to keep coordination smooth.
This new body is in charge of designing and executing the state’s biggest sports projects, including the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, Naranpura Sports Complex, and the Gujarat Police Academy Sports Hub in Karai. These are being planned in consultation with Indian as well as international partners.
“GSIDCL is coordinating the design, development, and long-term legacy planning of Olympic standard sports facilities in consultation with leading global firms — Populous, BDP Pattern (UK), COX Architecture (Australia) and Indian firm Collage Design,” said a member of the GSIDCL team in a written response to questions from ThePrint.
The 650-acre Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave is estimated to cost Rs 6,000 crore, and the Karai hub Rs 1,500 crore, according to reports. “Naranpura Sports Complex, being developed under the Khelo India scheme, is estimated at INR 761 Cr,” read the response. “These facilities will meet international standards and house 20+ Olympic disciplines.”
While inaugurating the Para High Performance Centre in 2022, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that it would fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of seeing Ahmedabad as “India’s sports city”.
The work is everywhere
On a quiet afternoon in Gandhinagar, the empty land in front of the Sports Authority of Gujarat building is buzzing with trucks, cranes, and JCBs. This is the site of the Para High Performance Centre, a Rs 316 crore project being built in coordination with the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI). This too is part of Gujarat’s Olympics drive.
The upcoming centre promises a state-of-the-art athletics stadium, a multipurpose indoor arena, a world-class shooting centre, as well as residential facilities. It is intended to be the first-of-its-kind integrated facility in India.
“The Para High Performance Centre is designed for wheelchair basketball, table tennis, judo, and taekwondo. Indoor and outdoor aquatic facilities, including a competition and warm-up pool, are part of the plan. The design follows national and international standards, including the International Paralympic Design Guidelines, and will be equipped to host major sporting events,” said IR Vala, Secretary of the Sports Authority of Gujarat.
While inaugurating the project in 2022, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that it would fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of seeing Ahmedabad as “India’s sports city”.
For now, para-athletes train at the Sports Authority of India’s Gandhinagar campus nearby, which has basic hostels, courts, and gyms. They are excited about what’s to come.
“With this new centre we will have advanced tools that will help many more para-athletes to get training from world-class facilities, which we’ve only heard exist abroad,” said Meenakshi Tyagi, a para badminton player.
It’s no longer just about building stadiums—it’s about building a sports mindset. What we’re creating today will define how the world sees Ahmedabad tomorrow
-Senior official involved in the Olympic push
Work is also underway on the Naranpura Sports Complex, another big project on Gujarat’s Olympic circuit. Spread over 20.38 acres in Ahmedabad, it will have four major blocks: an aquatics centre, a centre for excellence, an indoor arena, and a community complex. Outdoor facilities will include courts for tennis, basketball, and volleyball, and a Fit India Zone.
The complex is geared for both elite athletes and the local community, and will be one of the country’s few urban sports hubs built to Olympic standards. It is also central to India’s bids to host the Asian Aquatics and Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in 2025 and the Asian Weightlifting Championship in 2026—all part of the roadmap for a 2036 Olympics.
“These facilities are being designed to Olympic standards and are aligned with the state’s legacy planning approach to provide long-term community benefit,” read the GSIDCL response.
Not every sports infrastructure project, however, is up and running. A new sports centre inside Gujarat University’s campus, for instance. Built by the state government, it remains shut because of an ongoing tussle over who will run it. Students say they haven’t been allowed to use the facility, even months after its completion. The university has now issued an e-tender seeking private operators for various facilities, from the tennis courts to a shooting academy.
But for now, all eyes are on the pièce de resistance of the state’s Olympic plans—the sprawling Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave.
A senior official involved in the Olympic push said every zone in the city will have a sports club to build a culture of participation and performance.
‘More than a stadium’
Gujarat’s ambition to become the sports hub first showed up with the inauguration of the world’s largest cricket stadium, the Narendra Modi Stadium at Motera, in 2020 in the presence of US President Donald Trump and the Prime Minister himself.
“This was always PM Modi’s dream. When he was CM in Gujarat, he launched Khel Mahakumbh in 2009. That was a serious step for Gujarat. This Olympic bid is just a natural next step,” said a senior IAS officer from Gujarat.
In the past few years, Gujarat has invested heavily in sports infrastructure across the board. The Narendra Modi Stadium cost Rs 700 crore. Smaller sports complexes across Ahmedabad have seen investments of Rs 200-250 crore. The state’s annual sports budget has shot up to Rs 521 crore in 2025-26, up from Rs 352 crore in 2024. In 2002, it was reportedly just Rs 2.5 crore. The state has also received Rs 605 crore under the Centre’s Khelo India scheme over the last eight years.
The Motera stadium, with its 360-degree uninterrupted view, Olympic-grade drainage system, and LED-lit concourses, set a new benchmark. But the dream didn’t stop there. It expanded into the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave—a multi-sport hub spreading across Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.
The enclave will include both permanent and temporary venues: a 15,000-seat indoor stadium, a 12,000-seat aquatics centre, a 10,000-seat volleyball court, a 6,000-seat basketball arena, climbing walls, and dedicated athlete housing. There will also be hotels, retail spaces, entertainment zones, food courts, and administrative offices.
The broader plan includes urban sports arenas with a 3,000-spectator capacity, expansive parking for over 22,000 vehicles, indoor and outdoor pools, multi-sport fields, an artificial beach, a boating centre, and flexible indoor halls for badminton, volleyball, and table tennis.
“The football stadium and two multi-purpose arenas will be constructed outside the SVP enclave as per the new plan. The facility and infrastructure will be world class,” said the senior official in the sports department.
The enclave, he added, aims to be a one-stop destination for global sports events and athlete development.
“It’s no longer just a stadium, but much more.”
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Building a sports mindset
Thirty-eight-year-old JP Sharma has lived in Ahmedabad all his life, but he’s never seen the city like this. The construction dust and traffic are frustrating, but the mega events recently hosted at the Motera stadium make him proud.
“I get annoyed by the dust and traffic problems,” Sharma said. “But when people praised the stadium and the infrastructure after the Coldplay concert, I felt proud. There will be problems for residents, but what the city is aiming for is larger.”
Local athletes, meanwhile, see the new infrastructure as a long-overdue opportunity. Gujarat has historically lagged behind sports powerhouses like Haryana and Maharashtra. As host of the 2022 National Games, the state ranked 12th, with 49 medals. In the Khelo India Youth Games too, Gujarat’s performance has been modest, with medal tallies ranging from 13 to 52 per year and rankings mostly outside the top 10. On the international front, it has had only one Asian Games gold in a decade—won by sprinter Sarita Gayakwad in 2018—and no Olympic or Commonwealth medals.
“My younger brother is a badminton player. We have sent him for better training in Delhi. But if better infrastructure will be available here, then he can train here and represent our state and win medals,” said Pratik Bhatt, a resident of Ahmedabad.
A senior official involved in the Olympic push said every zone in the city will have a sports club to build a culture of participation and performance.
“It’s no longer just about building stadiums—it’s about building a sports mindset,” he said. “What we’re creating today will define how the world sees Ahmedabad tomorrow.”
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
Why Ahmedabad? Why not a city in Punjab or Odhisa which is doing so much for Indian Hockey?