Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay Thursday announced plans to establish a world-class Olympic City in Chennai, along with a dedicated Motor Sports City, with the aim of building modern sports infrastructure in the state. The announcements were made in the state assembly under Rule 110.
The Tamil Nadu Olympic City will be developed by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) as an integrated Olympic-standard complex featuring sports arenas, advanced equipment, a high performance training centre, dedicated sports science and medicine centres, and accommodation facilities for athletes and coaches.
The Vijay-led government aims to design the hub to give sportspersons better access to high-quality training and competition facilities, with the goal of grooming them for competing at national and international levels and helping Tamil Nadu athletes win more medals at the Olympics and other major sporting events.
The proposed project is meant to enable year-round scientific training, recovery, biomechanical analysis, nutrition support and competition simulation that are essential for producing Olympic-level performers. Currently, despite recent investments in district complexes, synthetic tracks and a few specialised centres, the state’s sports infrastructure still has issues linked to uneven quality and coverage.
While the previous government led by M.K. Stalin did take measures to improve the venues that were damaged or had poorly maintained tracks, athletes have been voicing issues, such as certain track surfaces becoming unusable in rain and limited access to synthetic throwing areas. There are limited specialised arenas for disciplines like gymnastics, and some of the older facilities pose injury risks.
The government will also set up a separate Motor Sports City with a state-of-the-art motorsports complex and supporting infrastructure. The facility is planned to host Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3 and Formula 4 races. It will also include training programmes to identify and nurture young motorsport talent from across Tamil Nadu.
CM Vijay highlighted the state’s existing strengths in automobile manufacturing and motorsports. Tamil Nadu is a major centre for two- and four-wheeler production. Facilities, such as the Madras International Circuit at Irungattukottai near Chennai and the KARI Motor Speedway in Coimbatore, already host national-level Formula 3 and Formula 4 events.
The Madras International Circuit, opened in 1990 as India’s first permanent racing track, holds an FIA Grade 2 licence and has regularly hosted national championships, MRF Formula series, F4 India events and other lower-formula racing.
The Motor Sports City project is expected to attract leading motor-racing and car-manufacturing companies, while generating tourism and employment opportunities.