Indian Super League (ISL) soccer excitement is buzzing at JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur, which for the first time will host its matches as home team Jamshedpur FC gears up for a splashy debut this November.
By October, the Rs 40-crore makeover of the 30,000-seater stadium will be complete according to ISL guidelines, Tata Steel sports officials say.
Infrastructure upgrades range from grass to floodlights, washrooms to Wi-Fi.
The stadium will turn into a floodlit arena with new roof cover on two sides, separate dressing rooms and a new turf with soft Princess 77, a variant of Bermuda grass.
Currently, the entire eastern wing's residential area has been demolished to set up two plush air-conditioned dressing rooms attached with toilets and bathrooms and separate lounges. Pillars for six floodlights will start being erected from next month. Laying of Bermuda grass will begin on September 15.
This apart, new fibre chairs will be fixed at galleries and a new digital board to show scores, final results and players lists, will also be installed atop the eastern wing. The stadium complex will also get Wi-Fi.
"Renovation will be complete within October," said Mukul Choudhry, chief of sports excellence at Tata Steel. "We factored monsoon into consideration before chalking out the renovation plan. Work is underway on a satisfactory note," Choudhry, a former Tata Football Academy (TFA) administrator actively involved in the ISL affairs involving Jamshedpur FC, added.
ISL officials have already inspected the stadium twice.
Insiders at Tata sports wing said plans to install lifts for VIPs and cover the entire stadium with a roof had been shelved for now. "Time is a factor and concentrating on the lift and roof cover is a lengthy process. These two things are in the pipeline for next year," a senior official said.
The steel major has earmarked TFA grounds as a practice venue for Jamshedpur FC. For next year, Tata Steel has decided on a space in Kadma near Ganesh Puja ground as another ISL practice venue. Some residential quarters may have to be demolished for that.
