New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) London-based accounting firm Deloitte Group will be the Transaction Advisor to “guide the redevelopment process” of the national capital’s iconic Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium which the government intends to convert into a multi-purpose Sports City.
The Ministry plans to rebuild the stadium, which is spread over 102 acres, into a Sports City of international standards that will cater to all major disciplines and include lodging facility for athletes.
It is reliably learnt that Deloitte, one of the big four global accounting firms, was picked after a tendering process in which two other companies made it past the technical evaluation phase.
Deloitte was found to be the best in the final round of evaluation and was awarded the bid. The Deloitte group is empanelled in the Department of Economic Affairs’ pre-approved list of consultants.
Its brief for the upcoming project would be to prepare feasibility reports, cost estimates and formulate the financial structure of the ambitious project.
The redevelopment of the stadium was first proposed in November last year and the time-line for its completion and the estimated cost are still being worked out.
All offices inside the stadium, including that of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), National Anti Doping Agency (NADA), the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) and the Income Tax department will be relocated as and when the project takes off.
The Sports Authority of India owns the venue. The government’s flagship Khelo India project office also operates from the same venue.
The JLN Stadium was built in 1982 for the Asian Games held that year. It later hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games for which it was refurbished at a cost of over Rs 900 crore.
It hosted the World Para-Athletics Championship last year for which it underwent another facelift, leading to the laying of the renowned MONDO track, which is considered a faster surface that reduces risk of injury.
Besides being a prime athletics venue, the stadium has a football pitch where national and international-level games have been held.
It is used for non-sporting commercial activities too with concerts by Indian and international singers held regularly.
For the redevelopment project, sports cities in Qatar and Australia have been assessed to finalise the modalities.
The Doha Sports City is spread over 617 acres. It has facilities for football, aquatics and 13 different indoor sports besides an academy. It also houses a specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital.
Australia’s multi-purpose facilities include the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne that can host cricket, Australian rules football, rugby and soccer.
Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Complex is an example closer home, having facilities for cricket, aquatics, tennis and athletics among others. It is spread over 250 acres and was built at a cost of Rs 4600 crore.
Delhi to get SAI Regional Centre
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It is also learnt that Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has approved the setting up of a SAI Regional Centre in Delhi to ensure better implementation, and supervision of all SAI and Khelo India Schemes.
The absence of a dedicated Regional Centre has resulted in lack of administrative clarity, non-uniformity in reporting structures and limitations in effective field-level monitoring and coordination.
Delhi has five National Centres of Excellence covering high-profile disciplines such as shooting, hockey, and athletics among others.
They are managed by the SAIs Stadia Division but it was felt that a regional Centre would be equipped to ensure administrative clarity and coordination between the NCOEs.