Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today laid the foundation stone for the construction of a second hockey stadium in Steel City, Rourkela for the hosting of the 2023 Mens Hockey World Cup. The new stadium would be after eminent tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

The Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium would be the second venue for the 2023 Mens Hockey World Cup, apart from the Kalinga Stadium in Capital City, Bhubaneswar. The new international hockey stadium would have a seating capacity of more than 20,000.

"It would be the most modern field hockey facility in India. The stadium will be a new benchmark in global stadium design for hockey, offering one of the finest spectator experiences in the world," said Patnaik.

According to a DSYS Whatapp forward, the proposed stadium will be a model of green, functional, cost-effective design. Designed to deliver the best match-day atmospheres in the world, each seat will have uninterrupted sightlines and the spectators will be closer to the pitch than at any other hockey stadium in the world.

The stadium would be completed within a year. In 2018, Odisha hosted the Mens Hockey World Cup in Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. State-owned Idco has been assigned to take up construction of the stadium, which is expected to be ready by June 2022. The State Govt would spend Rs 120 crore for the purpose.

The stadium site is located within the sprawling campus of Biju Patnaik University of Technology, one of the premier technical institutes of the State. The stadium, which is tauted to be the largest Hockey Stadium in India, is adjacent to the Rourkela air strip, where the commercial flights are expected to start soon.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: The illustrated designe of the second international hockey stadium in Rourkela for which the foundation was laid by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on 16 February, 2021.