Existing sports complexes in Ahmedabad lie neglected despite crores spent in name of Commonwealth Games

With Ahmedabad slated to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has drawn up development plans involving expenditure worth crores of rupees. However, several existing sports facilities in the city, including the centrally located Sardar Patel Stadium, remain in a neglected and dilapidated condition.

Despite tall claims of sports infrastructure development, even students from municipal schools are reportedly not being given free access to corporation-run sports facilities. Local athletes have also raised concerns over limited public access to these amenities.

The Naranpura Sports Complex, built at a cost exceeding ₹731 crore, has come under scrutiny. During a recent budget meeting, Dariyapur corporator Nirav Bakshi alleged that while the complex has been handed over to the Sports Authority of Gujarat, the AMC continues to bear cleaning and housekeeping expenses. He further claimed that citizens are yet to fully benefit from the facility.

Meanwhile, the old Sardar Patel Stadium in the Income Tax area is said to be in a deteriorating state. Questions have been raised over the lack of visible renovation plans, even as the city prepares for a global sporting event like the Commonwealth Games.

In 2020, a 7,233 sq m plot near Sardar Patel Stadium in Navrangpura was allotted to the Ahmedabad City Tennis

Foundation for the construction of an international-level tennis stadium. However, five years later, the building plans for the proposed project are still awaiting approval.

Opposition members have urged the civic body to complete pending and underutilised projects before announcing large-scale spending in the name of upcoming international events.