The site of the proposed mega sports complex at Barwadda. Picture by Gautam Dey

Dhanbad, April 10: Sportspersons here will no more have to run the extra mile to compete their contemporaries.

The department of art, culture, sports and youth affairs, after a long wait, has released initial funds for the proposed mega sports complex here.

The Rs 10-crore complex will be set up at Barwadda, about 3 km from here. Spread over 10 acres, the stadium will have a capacity of 10,000 — 6,500 seats for general people and the rest for VIPs, mediapersons and others.

Modelled on the sports complexes in Calcutta and Thiruvananthapuram, the stadium will have facilities of international standard. Ideas have been taken from consultants and constructors of the Salt Lake stadium and Netaji Indoor stadium in Calcutta and builders of University stadium and Jimmy George stadium in Thiruvananthapuram to design the tracks and indoor stadiums of the complex.

The state government had asked the district administration to raise funds locally before the government sanctions an amount. Efforts were being taken in this regard for over one year. Parliamentarian Chandrashekhar Dubey announced to give Rs 75 lakh from his MPLAD fund while laying the foundation stone of the complex in November last year. Out of this, Rs 25 lakh has been sanctioned.

Following it, the state government finally nodded for Rs 4.88 crore, out of which Rs 1 crore was sanctioned in March this year. “It is the initial amount while the rest is expected to come in phases as the construction progresses,” said deputy commissioner Beela Rajesh.