Ahmedabad Sports District Masterplan Centers on World’s Largest Cricket Stadium
A comprehensive sports district masterplan has been unveiled for the 350-acre Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave in Ahmedabad, India. The development surrounds the 132,000-seat Narendra Modi Stadium, currently the world’s largest stadium by capacity. Moreover, the project integrates international competition venues with public landscapes and community facilities along the Sabarmati Riverfront.
The masterplan is designed to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games centenary event. However, planners envision the enclave functioning as both a major events precinct and an urban park for everyday public use. Consequently, the design emphasizes adaptability beyond temporary sporting requirements.
Mandala-Based Spatial Organization
The urban planning framework employs a mandala-based grid system. A central green boulevard structures pedestrian movement across the site. Additionally, this corridor connects four major venues: an International Tennis Centre, an Indoor Arena, an Aquatic Centre, and a National Institute of Sports Excellence.
Climate-responsive strategies inform the entire development. Tree-lined corridors, recessed plazas, and passive cooling measures integrate throughout the architectural design. Furthermore, landscape functions as connective infrastructure, mediating between large-capacity venues and the riverfront context.
Competition-Ready Facilities
The International Tennis Centre features a 10,000-seat main stadium alongside secondary show courts seating 5,000 and 3,000 spectators. Eight additional match courts complete the complex. A lightweight tensile roof provides shading while enabling natural ventilation. The facility will operate year-round as a tennis club with both indoor and outdoor courts.
The 18,000-seat Indoor Arena sits at the eastern edge. Its facades incorporate bronze-anodized aluminum screens referencing regional jharokhas and chhajjas. These elements provide solar shading while filtering daylight into interior spaces.
Meanwhile, the Aquatic Centre accommodates 12,000 spectators during competitions, reducing to 4,000 post-event. An exposed structural exoskeleton and overhanging roof elements support passive environmental control.
Training Campus and Riverfront Transformation
The National Institute of Sports Excellence functions as a dedicated training campus. It incorporates gymnasiums, recovery areas, and biomedical facilities positioned between the Tennis Centre and main stadium.
The Sabarmati riverfront transforms into a Games Plaza for ceremonial events. Post-competition, this area transitions into a public park with community sports courts and green spaces.
Global Stadium Development Context
This project aligns with several large-scale sports infrastructure developments worldwide. King Salman Stadium in Riyadh targets 2029 completion for the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Similarly, a 42,000-seat stadium in Egypt forms part of a broader sports city masterplan expected by 2029.
What role will multi-use sports districts play in shaping future urban development strategies across rapidly growing cities?
A Quick Architectural Snapshot
The 350-acre enclave integrates four primary venues around the 132,000-capacity stadium along the Sabarmati River. Bronze-anodized aluminum screens, tensile roof structures, and exposed exoskeletons define the architectural vocabulary. Tree-lined boulevards and shaded plazas employ passive climate strategies throughout the masterplan. The development targets completion for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight
A 350-acre sports enclave built around a single stadium of 132,000 seats does not emerge from architectural ambition. It emerges from a convergence of national branding strategy, mega-event procurement cycles, and post-event land value speculation. The 2030 Commonwealth Games deadline compresses design into delivery logistics. The mandala-based grid, climate-responsive corridors, and adaptive venue capacities are rational responses to insurance-driven risk frameworks, spectator liability models, and operational cost forecasts. Venue downsizing from 12,000 to 4,000 seats post-event reveals a familiar pattern: infrastructure scaled for a moment, then contracted for reality. The riverfront transformation from ceremonial plaza to public park follows a global template where urban planning absorbs the fiscal aftershock of mega-events. This project is the logical outcome of host-city selection pressure, accelerated procurement timelines, and legacy narrative obligations.
