Salt Lake Stadium সল্টলেক স্টেডিয়াম | |
 | |
 Interactive map of Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan বিবেকানন্দ যুবভারতী ক্রীড়াঙ্গন | |
| Location | Bidhannagar,Greater Kolkata[1] |
|---|---|
| Public transit |  Salt Lake Stadium |
| Owner | Government of West Bengal |
| Operator | Department of Youth Services & Sports |
| Capacity | 85,000 (2011–2017, 2020–)[5] List
|
| Record attendance | 131,781 (1997 Federation Cup semi-final) |
| Field size | 110 m × 72 m (361 ft × 236 ft) |
| Surface | Grass (1984–2011) Astro-turf (2011–2015) Bermuda grass (2015–present)[3][4] |
| Scoreboard | Yes (manual & digital) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 25 January 1984; 41 years ago (1984-01-25) |
| Renovated | 2011, 2014,[2] 2016–2017 |
| Architect | M. S. Ballardie, Thompson & Matthews Pvt. Ltd. H. K. Sen & Associates |
| Tenants | |
| India national football team (1984–present) West Bengal football team (1984–present) East Bengal (1984–present) Mohun Bagan (1984–present) Mohammedan (1984–present) | |
TheSalt Lake Stadium, officially known asVivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK),[7] is amulti-purpose stadium, used mostly forfootball matches, located inSalt Lake City,Greater Kolkata,[7] with a capacity of 85,000 spectators.[5] Named afterSwami Vivekananda, the stadium is one of the home grounds ofEast Bengal FC andMohun Bagan SG. The stadium hosted the final match of the2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, alongside other matches of the tournament.[8][9]
The stadium switched back to naturalgrass fromartificial turf, unveiled in aKolkata Derby match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan during the2016 Calcutta Premier Division match.[10]
The stadium was established in 1984 because the club grounds in theMaidan area, each with capacity around 20,000, were proving too small for the huge crowd that occupied the grounds on matchdays. And while theEden Gardens was there to handle some of the bigger games, like theKolkata Derby, the pressure of handling both cricket and football was proving to be a bit too much for the stadium.[11]
The stadium is situated approximately 10 kilometers to the east of theGreater Kolkata downtown. The roof is made of metal tubes andaluminum sheets andconcrete. The stadium was inaugurated in January 1984. There are two electronic scoreboards and control rooms. There is illumination at night. There are special arrangements for TV broadcasting.[12]
The stadium features three tiers of concrete galleries. The stadium has 9 entry gates and 30 ramps for the spectators to reach the viewing blocks. The nine gates include the VIP gate. Gates 1 and 2 are on Kadapara road, gate no.3, 3A, 4, 4A and 4B are on the side of Broadway; gate no 5 and the VIP gate are on the side of EM By pass. The ramps are inside the stadium and link the inner ring road to the different levels of the stadium complex.[13]
The stadium covers an area of 76.40 acres (309,200 m2). The stadium has a unique[citation needed] synthetic track for athletic meets. It has a main football arena measuring 105 by 70 metres (344 ft × 230 ft). It also houses electronics scoreboards, elevators, VIP enclosures, peripheral floodlighting arrangement from the roof-top, air-conditioned VIP rest room, conference hall and much more. The stadium has its own water arrangements and standby diesel generatiorsets.[12]
An installation of a personal seating and a reducement of capacity for safety reasons down to 85,000 was a long-term project meant to "give enough elbow room to the spectators and also facilitate smooth passage during the breaks".[14]
While some changes to modernize the stadium started in 2014,[14] the₹1 billion (US$12 million) renovation project began earnestly in February 2015. The artificial turf at the stadium has been replaced by an all-natural grass pitch. The new grass is from Riviera Bermuda seeds and below it there are two layers of sand and gravel. The next layer is fitted with perforated pipes to prevent water-logging. German company Porplastic provided the elastic coating for the running track around the pitch, which was replaced for the first time since the stadium was built.
The lobby of the VIP entrance that leads to the player's arena was air-conditioned. The broadcast rooms and stadium offices were renovated. Bucket seats replaced the concrete benches in the galleries, which brought down the stadium's capacity from 120,000 to 85,000. The VIP and press boxes, both in the middle tier, were pulled down and a new press box with a capacity of 240 seats is now on the third tier. The VIP box remained on the second tier, with an added 240 seats. The press conference room has been shifted to a 19x8.5-metre space. A spacious broadcast room of similar dimensions has been built.
Two full-sized practice grounds and eight floodlight towers have come up at the Hyatt end of the stadium, as recommended byFIFA. The referees rooms have been built alongside the practice grounds. The number of gates to the stadium has been increased to nine. Some of the existing gates has been widened, as were the paths connecting the ring road.[3][4][15][13]
The stadium is located in the satellite township ofSalt Lake inNorth 24 Parganas and it also lies beside theEastern Metropolitan Bypass which makes it easily accessible by road.
There are numerous buses which ply around the city to the stadium. TheGreen Line of theKolkata Metro is passing near the stadium, therefore the stadium has its own station, opened on 13 February 2020.[16] The stadium is approx 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) away fromN.S.C. Bose International Airport.
_Kolkata_India_-_FC_Bayern_Munich_Mohun_Bagan_Oliver_Kahn_1.jpg)
After its inauguration in January 1984 with theJawaharlal Nehru International Gold Cup, the Salt Lake Stadium has hosted several important international tournaments and matches of the1986 FIFA World Cup qualification in 1985, Super-Soccers in 1986, 1989, 1991 and 1994, 3rdSouth Asian Games in 1987,USSR Festival Cup in 1988, Charminar Challenger Trophy in 1992 and theJawaharlal Nehru International Gold Cup in 1995.
The Salt Lake Stadium has hosted the home games of three main local clubs in theI-League and theISL, namelyEast Bengal,Mohun Bagan SG andMohammedan SC. Many of the home games of theIndian team are also played at the Salt Lake Stadium. It also hosts selected matches of theCalcutta Football League and theIFA Shield. In 2014, a new tenantAtlético de Kolkata had made the stadium their home ground. Later, ATK was dissolved and became ATK Mohun Bagan.
On 5 June 2011,FIFA scheduled a friendly match[citation needed] to be played at the Salt Lake on 2 September 2011. The match was played betweenArgentina andVenezuela. This was a historic occasion in the history of Indian football and also for the stadium as the match featured Argentine superstarLionel Messi.[17][18] The stadium has also hostedOliver Kahn's official farewell match forBayern Munich when they played a friendly match againstMohun Bagan. Bayern Munich won the match 3–0.[19]In December 2012, a friendly match was played between Brazil Masters and IFA All Stars. Brazil Masters won it 3–1.Beto scored twice andBebeto scored one goal for Brazil Masters.[20]
On 12 October 2014, the stadium hosted the first match in theIndian Super League, preceded by an opening ceremony which featured superstars from the footballing world as well as fromBollywood. In the opening match,Atlético de Kolkata defeatedMumbai City FC 3–0.[21] The stadium hosted its last match of the inaugural edition ofISL on 14 December whereAtlético de Kolkata playedFC Goa in the first leg of the semi-finals. Salt Lake stadium was the only stadium among the eight venues of ISL where matches were allowed to be played on artificial turf. It hosted 11 matches in2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, including the Final. The stadium also hosted theFIFA world cup qualification match betweenBangladesh andIndia.
The stadium also hosts importantathletic events. It has hosted theSAF Games in 1987 and various national athletics events in India. The stadium also hosts different kinds of cultural programs such as dance andmusic concerts. The stadium also hosted the opening ceremony of2013IPL season.[22][23]
| Tenants | ISL season | Home games | Average attendance[24] |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Bengal | 2022–23 | 10 | 16,387 |
| Mohun Bagan SG | 2022–23 | 10 | 25,072 |
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| Preceded by | Largest football stadium in the world January 1984 – May 1989 | Succeeded by |
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22°34′08″N88°24′33″E / 22.56899°N 88.40907°E /22.56899; 88.40907
