Arena

This case study project is a $75 million (approx. 500 Crore Rs) multifunctional, integrated sports stadium in a major city in India. The project site encompasses approximately nine acres and includes a field area, stadium seating of 20,000+ seats, arena area, concourse area, media areas, players changing area and support facilities, hospitality and VIP boxes, management offices, common and circulation areas, sports training and club facilities, parking area, a sports clubhouse, classrooms, an audiovisual room, library, gymnasium, and hospitality, commercial and retail facilities.

The project has employed several innovative technologies to increase the usage rate of the asset, improve social impact and minimize environmental footprint. Many of these are new to the geography and the project aims to demonstrate their applicability in the Indian context to spur further replication projects. The project applied for certification to the SuRe® standard for sustainable and resilient infrastructure and is expected to be the first certified project in India with a Bronze certification level.

Benefit sharing

The multipurpose arena adopted measures to ensure accessibility to poor and marginalized groups, e.g. through the use of a community outreach programme whereby travelling sports clinics would work with rural communities to improve health and well-being, while also identifying sporting talent and improving access of rural poor to sporting careers.

Environmental resilience

The project employed on-site generation of electricity, nature-based solutions for cooling and water management (e.g. green walls and vegetated surfaces), and water recycling measures to reduce resource consumption.

Social acceptability

The project avoided any resettlement of peoples, including informal settlements, and has worked with communities to ensure adequate and ongoing engagement throughout the project. The project has also worked to provide access to physically impaired community members.

Economic and institutional effectiveness

The project adopts an innovative business model that incorporates multifunctionality of space and assets to provide a more diverse and robust revenue base. This increases the usage rate of the assets significantly when compared with conventional sporting facilities. For example, spectator booths are built to convert into hotel rooms, retail space is integrated into the facility and the sporting area can be expanded or contracted to accommodate different activities.

Future-proofing

The project’s primary contribution to future-proofing is through its use of multifunctionality, enabling rapid adaptation of business models in the future.

Critical mass potential

While the project’s apparent purpose is entertainment through sport, it delivers a larger, strategic and transformative sustainability objective: to improve well-being and social mobility through sport in rural areas. The project has been designed with a larger, replicable vision in focus, which intends to use sport in India as a means of providing social impact.