 The stadium during the opening ceremony of2010 Commonwealth Games in October 2010 | |
 Interactive map of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | |
| Location | New Delhi |
|---|---|
| Public transit |  Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium |
| Owner | Sports Authority of India[1] |
| Capacity | 60,254[2] |
| Field size | 106 m × 68 m (116 yd × 74 yd) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | Yes |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1982 |
| Opened | 1983 |
| Renovated | 2010 |
| Construction cost | ₹961 crores |
| Architect | Gerkan, Marg and Partners Schlaich Bergermann Partner |
| Tenants | |
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is a multi-sports stadium located inNew Delhi, India. It is named after thefirst Prime Minister of India. Primarily a venue forfootball andathletics, it is an all-seater 60,254-capacity stadium, designed and constructed to meet the international standards set byFIFA, theAsian Football Confederation (AFC), andWorld Athletics (WA). It is thefourth largest stadium in India,27th largest stadium in Asia and the103rd largest stadium in the world, in terms of seating capacity.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was originally constructed by theGovernment of India to host the athletic events and ceremonies of the1982 Asian Games.[3] It also hosted the1989 Asian Championships in Athletics.[4] The stadium was substantially renovated and modernised for the2010 Commonwealth Games, hosting all the track and field events andopening andclosing ceremonies.[5] In 2010, the final cost of the renovation was announced, which was₹961 crore (US$210.16 million), making it as the most expensive stadium ever built in India andSouth Asia.[6] The stadium was redesigned by the German architectural companiesGerkan, Marg and Partners andSchlaich Bergermann Partner.[7][8]
The stadium is a part of the Jawaharlal Nehru sports complex in central Delhi, which also houses the headquarters of theSports Authority of India.[9] The stadium is used by theIndia national football team for international competition andIndian Athletics. From 2014 to 2019, it was the home ground of the formerIndian Super League football clubDelhi Dynamos. The stadium can also hold music concerts with up to 100,000 spectators, and due to its oval shape, it is suitable to host other sporting events such as cricket.[10] The stadium hosted some matches of the2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[11] It was scheduled to be used as one of the venues for the2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[12]
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was constructed by theGovernment of India to host the1982 Asian Games. A total of 3,411 athletes from 33National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these games, competing in 196 events in 21 sports and 23 disciplines. This was the first Asian Games to be held under the aegis of theOlympic Council of Asia. The stadium hosted the athletic events and opening and closing ceremonies. The capacity of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was 78,000 during the games.[3] The stadium also hosted the1989 Asian Championships in Athletics.[4]
Delhi was selected as the host city of the2010 Commonwealth Games on 14 November 2003 during theCGF General Assembly inMontego Bay,Jamaica, defeating the competing bid fromHamilton,Canada.[13] In 2006, theIndian government decided to renovate the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the Commonwealth Games.
The Indian government chose the design of the German architectural companyGerkan, Marg and Partners.[7] Renovation of the stadium started in 2007. Nearly 4,000 construction workers worked on the stadium in double shifts. The substantially remodelled and modernised stadium was inaugurated on 27 July 2010.[14] The stadium was given a new roof, improved seating, and other new facilities to meet international standards to allow it to host the athletic events and the opening and closing ceremonies of the2010 Commonwealth Games.[5] The capacity of the stadium was reduced from 78,000 to 60,254. The cost of the renovation was around₹961 crore (US$210.16 million).[6]
The 53,800 m2 (579,000 sq ft)Teflon-coated roof, designed by the German structural engineering and consulting firmSchlaich Bergermann Partner, was built at a cost of₹308 crore (US$67.36 million).[8]Taiyo Membrane Corporation supplied and installed thePTFE glass fibre fabric roof.[15] It is one of the largest membrane roof system in the world. 8,500 tonnes of steel were used in the construction of the stadium's roof and its support structure. A new 10-lane synthetic Olympic standard running track and a synthetic grass field were added. A 400-metre warm-up track was also constructed. A 150 metre long tunnel below the ground of the stadium was constructed for the opening and closing ceremonies. In case of emergency, the construction of the stadium allows for all 60,000 spectators to be safely evacuated within 6 minutes.[16] A new Electro-Voice professional audio system byBosch Communications was set up in the stadium.[17]
Two new venues were constructed next to the stadium for the Games: four synthetic greens for thelawn bowls event and a 2,172-seat gymnasium for theweightlifting event.[18] The stadium is a part of the Jawaharlal Nehru sports complex which houses the headquarters of theSports Authority of India.[9] The design of the stadium is similar toCentury Lotus Stadium inFoshan,China, designed by the same company.[19]
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was the main venue for the2010 Commonwealth Games. It hosted theopening andclosing ceremonies as well as athletics events for the games. The stadium underwent massive redesign and reconstruction for the biggest multi-sport event hosted by India to that date. It was opened to the general public on 27 July 2010.[20]
In July 2010, the first-ever Asian All Asian Athletics Championship was held. Over 1,500 students from schools came to see the event. The opening ceremony of the2010 Commonwealth Games has been held. Security for the ceremony used NSG, CRPF and Delhi police personnel. Tickets were checked by electronic ticket checking machine similar to the ones used in the Delhi Metro. There are over 350 CCTV cameras in the venue. Delhi was closed, in the sense that all the malls, shops, offices, and call-centers in Delhi were closed before and during the ceremony.
I-League matches have also been played here. The stadium was the main venue for the2011 SAFF Championship.
On 10 January 2012, theGovernment of India, andAudi, co-hosted a friendly football exhibition match between theIndia national football team andBayern Munich at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. In this one-sided affair, the German club has defeated Indian team by 4–0 in front of 30,000 spectators. This was the farewell match toBaichung Bhutia as India National Football Team captain.
From2014 Indian Super League until 2019, it served as home ground forDelhi Dynamos FC.[21] Before the 2019 season, the Dynamos moved toBhubaneswar asOdisha FC.
The stadium hosted 8 matches (including 2 Round of 16 matches) of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[22] It will be used again for the2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
At the end of2017–18 Indian Super League, the football pitch in the stadium was named as "Best Pitch" in the league byISL itself.[23] In2023–24 Indian Super League season, the stadium has been used by league debutantPunjab as their home venue.[24][25][26][27]
TheIndia national football team will play its home matches in the Nehru Stadium after it was handed over by Sports Ministry to theAIFF.[28] India's first match in the new stadium was to be played againstUAE in2014 FIFA World Cup qualification play-off in July 2011.[29] However, this match was shifted toAmbedkar Stadium because of the unplayable conditions at the Nehru stadium.[30] The2011 SAFF Cup was held here from 2–11 December 2011, with theIndia national football team emerging victorious. The2012 Nehru Cup was held from 23 August to 2 September at this venue.[31]
The stadium played host toAmnesty International'sHuman Rights Now! Benefit Concert on 30 September 1988. The show was headlined byBruce Springsteen & theE Street Band, and also featuredSting andPeter Gabriel,Tracy Chapman,Youssou N'Dour, andRavi Shankar.
The project was led and managed by Mr. Ramji Lal fromCPWD.
Michael Jackson was scheduled to perform 2 concerts at the stadium in December 1993 as a part of hisDangerous World Tour. Some tickets were also sold. This would have been the first time Jackson would have performed in India.MTV India and other TV channels played Jackson's music videos months before the concert which created mass hysteria and anticipation in the public for the concerts and Jackson's visit to India. Both the concerts were expected to be sold out. These two concerts were scheduled to be the last performances of the tour. Unfortunately the concerts in Delhi along with the dates for Indonesia and Australia were cancelled due to Jackson's health problems.[32]
On 18 and 19 October 2025, Houston-born rapperTravis Scott performed there as part of the Asian leg of hisCircus Maximus Tour. Both shows sold out in a matter of minutes. Selling over 200,000 tickets, Travis holds the record for the most tickets sold for a rap concert in India's history.
The Jawaharlal Nehru stadium was the main venue for the 2025World Para Athletics Championships (also known asIndianOil New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships for sponsorship reasons) was apara-athletics meet organised by theWorld Para Athletics, the respective sport branch of theInternational Paralympic Committee. This was the 12th edition of the event and were held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,New Delhi, from 27 September to 5 October 2025.[33] This was the first time the event has been hosted in India as well as inSouth Asia.[34]
The Stadium has hosted twoOne Day International matches featuringIndia againstAustralia in 1984 which incidentally, was the first day-night one day international match under floodlights to be held in India.[35] andSouth Africa in 1991, again the fixture being a day night one (also being the second ever day-night cricket match in India) . BatsmanKepler Wessels played in both the matches but for different countries and scored 107 forAustralia and 90 forSouth Africa.[36]
A highly unusual feature of the ground was the inclusion of the running track as part of the cricket playing outfield area. TheICC's playing regulations eventually discontinued permission for the running track to be used in this way and thus the stadium was felt to be no longer suitable for cricket.
| Team (A) | Team (B) | Winner | Margin | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 India |  Australia | Australia | By 48 runs | 1984 |
| India |  South Africa | South Africa | By 8 wickets | 1991 |
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Inns. | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 107 | Kepler Wessels | Australia | 133 | 1 | India | 28 September 1984 | Won[37] |
| 2 | 109 | Ravi Shastri | India | 149 | 1 | South Africa | 14 November 1991 | Lost[38] |
| 3 | 105 | Sanjay Manjrekar | India | 82 | 1 | South Africa | 14 November 1991 | Lost[38] |
| Preceded by | Asian Games Main Venue 1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Asian Athletics Championships Main Venue 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commonwealth Games Opening ceremonies Main Venue 2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commonwealth Games Athletics competitions Main venue 2010 | Succeeded by |
28°34′58″N77°14′04″E / 28.582873°N 77.23438°E /28.582873; 77.23438
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