Facelift to stadiums for national events

Nellore: The long awaited renovation of A.C. Subba Reddy Sports Stadium and Indoor stadium was commenced under the supervision of AP Medical Infrastructure Development Corporation. The stadium and the indoor stadium located in sprawling grounds in the heart of the town have been crying for attention since five years. The indoor stadium, especially the wooden floor, is in a dilapidated state following leakage of water from the roof during rains.

Though the previous Congress government had sanctioned Rs 14.5 crore to develop the stadium at the recommendation of former finance minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, the amount was not released due to various reasons. Fresh proposals for renovation have been prepared by AP Medical Infrastructure Development Corporation following the initiative taken by district collector M. Janaki, director of Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh M. Ravindra Babu and district sports development officer R.K. Yethiraj.

A facelift is being given to play fields, swimming pool, pavilion, accommodation, wooden flooring in the indoor stadium and guest rooms to hold national level sports such as basket ball, hand ball, table tennis, shuttle, kabaddi and volleyball and paved the way to establish sports academies.

The good news for the hundreds of morning walkers gathered at the stadium before dawn everyday is that separate tracks are being laid for them for walking and running. Ravindra Babu said that SAAP has released Rs 2.50 crore for the work. He said that the renovation would help them to organise league matches and promotional games to inspire and generate interest on sports among youngsters while pointing to proposals to hold national games at Nellore in 2019.