Centre Eyes Mega Sports Makeover As Gujarat’s GIFT City And Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Set To Become All-in-One Sporting Hubs

For every country, the ambition to emerge as a global sporting power emerges from securing recognition at international events. With India being at the crossroads of becoming a rising sporting hub after getting the hosting rights for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and itching to host the 2036 Olympics, the ambitions are starting to take shape. The Indian government is investing heavily to transform its sporting ecosystem. Building on flagship successes like the Visakhapatnam and Amaravati sports cities, the decision-makers now plan to expand similar initiatives to Gujarat’s GIFT City and Delhi’s iconic Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

At the heart of Gujarat, Gandhinagar’s GIFT City is evolving beyond a financial district into a community-driven space. A public sports arena is being planned, with tenders already floated for its design and operation. Spread over 2.5 acres, the area will feature box cricket, pickleball, basketball, badminton, a top-notch golf range, and more. It will be open to residents and employees.

Sanjay Kaul, MD and Group CEO of GIFT City, said: "The project aligns with the broader vision of creating a globally competitive urban destination that balances economic growth with quality of life."

This is a major upgrade, especially as current facilities are limited to a private club for the 27,000 employees who work there. This will also serve as a social interactive place for other upcoming projects like the IT-AI City, a dedicated cluster adjacent to GIFT City. But while the GIFT City focuses on social and community sports engagement, the vision for the JLN Stadium is far more athlete-centric.

The New Delhi venue is proposed to be dismantled and redeveloped into a full-fledged Sports City. Spanning over 100 acres, it will consist of housing facilities for all major sports, athlete lodging, and even entertainment zones. The plan is simply a proposal, and no concrete timeline for completion and cost estimation has been put on the table.

"The stadium will be dismantled. All offices inside the stadium, including the 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 Ministry said.

"It is an idea at this stage but let's see how the feasibility study works out. But the ministry is very serious about going ahead with it," a source told the reporters.

Originally constructed in 1982 for the Asian Games, the stadium later served as the key venue for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. It then underwent a major refurbishment worth over ₹900 crore. Most recently, it hosted the World Paralympic Championship, during which the stadium saw further upgrades, including the installation of a MONDO athletic track.

People see these steps as a much-needed move to unlock the vast and underutilised potential of both of these projects. It will certainly create a world-class, all-in-one sporting destination.