The Big Games Gambit: Inside Ahmedabad’s mega plan to host 2030 CWG and 2036 Olympics | More Sports News
Ahmedabad’s appetite for bold bets can be measured in acres. At a recent planning summit, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) senior vice-president Ajay Patel offered a striking comparison. “Paris is using 400 acres for its 2024 Games. Ahmedabad has already got 1,000 acres.”Officially, the city is preparing for the 2030 Commonwealth Games (CWG), the centenary edition of the event and India’s first since Delhi 2010. But almost every major decision made today is shaped by a bigger ambition: positioning Ahmedabad as the host city for the 2036 Olympic Games. “The 2030 CWG is a dress rehearsal for the 2036 Summer Olympic Games,” Patel said. While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is expected to make a final call on the 2036 host around 2029, Gujarat has already started construction as the Olympics come.Driving the Motera shows the extent of that ambition. Construction cranes, excavators and scaffolding dominate the skyline as roads, sporting venues, transport systems and hotels take shape for an event four years away.The master planAt the center of the change is Rs 5,050-crore Sardar The Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave (SVPSE), which comes around the Narendra Modi Stadium, is the largest cricket venue in the world with a capacity of 1.32 lakh. The stadium is scheduled to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the CWG. The enclave will include a 12,000-seat aquatics center, an 18,000-seat tennis center and indoor arenas for basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, skateboarding, artistic swimming and sport climbing. To make way for the project, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has revised the land use plans of Sabarmati and Koteshwar, freeing up nearly 14.5 lakh square meters.Unlike many previous multisport events where venues struggled to find a purpose after the Games, Gujarat said legacy planning was built into the project from the start. “We have adopted an asset utilization model rather than a traditional ROI-based recovery approach,” Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who is leading the CWG bid in Ahmedabad, told TOI. “CWG infrastructure is a long-term investment in transforming Ahmedabad into an Olympics-ready hub, not a sunk cost.“The venues will function as a year-round Games Plaza, hosting sporting events, concerts and exhibitions, with an operational breakeven planned for five to seven years. A dedicated Infrastructure Legacy & Operations Trust (ILOT) has been created to manage the facilities at Motera and the Naranpura Sports Complex.The sporting footprint extends beyond Motera. About 11km away, at Karai in Gandhinagar, a net-zero athletics stadium with a capacity of 50,000 and a world-class shooting center is under construction. The Rs 825-crore Naranpura Sports Complex is now operational, with facilities for badminton, squash, table tennis and Olympic-standard swimming.Additional sports complexes have been completed in Vastral, while more are under construction in Gota, Ghuma, Naroda and Nikol. In total, 22 competition venues were completed across Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. Sanghavi set a firm deadline. “All major infrastructure will be ready by the end of 2029, leaving early 2030 for testing. By the time the athletes and visitors arrive, Ahmedabad will be fully prepared, with venues, transport and support systems functioning smoothly.“The 30-minute cityThe change, however, extends beyond the stadiums. Ahmedabad’s vehicular population is growing at around nine percent annually, much higher than the national average. To prevent congestion during the Games, planners have adopted what officials describe as a “30-minute city” model. The goal is simple: every athlete, official and spectator should be able to travel between venues, hotels and training centers within 30 minutes.The existing 168km Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), which carries more than 2.2 lakh passengers daily, will be integrated with an expanding Metro network. A new north-south Metro corridor and a parallel Neo Metro or light-rail system are each designed to carry about 70,000 passengers per hour in either direction.A Rs 472-crore integrated ticketing platform will allow commuters to use a QR code on the Metro, BRTS and a planned fleet of 3,000 electric buses. The road network was also expanded. New arterial roads and north-south and east-west corridors were developed, while more than 100 roads were widened. At the same time, the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport is preparing for a sharp increase in traffic. A new integrated terminal is expected to double its annual capacity, while airports in Dholera, Vadodara and Surat will help manage the overflow during the Olympics.Budgets and supportersFinancing a project of this scale requires multiple funding streams. According to Gujarat’s Olympic bid estimates, the organizing committee’s budget could range from Rs 18,557 crore to Rs 41,031 crore, while infrastructure capital expenditure is projected between Rs 16,060 crore and Rs 22,878 crore. The state plans to rely heavily on public-private partnerships, especially for the Olympic Village and International Broadcast Center. It also proposed an ‘Adopt a Sport’ program to encourage corporations to support the development and infrastructure of athletes by funding corporate social responsibility.Officials cite Gujarat’s own investment in sports as evidence of its long-term commitment. The state’s sports budget has increased from Rs 2.5 crore in 2002 to Rs 521 crore today, while the Khel Mahakumbh program now attracts more than seven million participants every year.Village and vacancyAccommodation remains one of the biggest challenges. The proposed Olympic Village, located within 5 km of the Narendra Modi Stadium, consists of 2,191 apartments capable of housing more than 17,500 athletes. The apartments are intended to be converted into premium residential housing.The lack of hotels presents a more difficult problem. Ahmedabad currently has over 5,400 star-category rooms, while the long-term requirement for an Olympics is estimated at around one lakh. The target is to increase capacity to 40,000 rooms before the 2030 Commonwealth Games through a new hotel policy that offers capital subsidies. Plots of land have already been earmarked for development, while neighboring cities such as Vadodara and Mehsana are expected to absorb some of the additional demand.Green promisesThe change also brings an ambitious sustainability agenda. Ahmedabad has committed to powering the proposed Olympic Games entirely through renewable energy, backed by upgraded battery storage systems. Six million trees have already been planted against the target of 10 million, while each competition venue is expected to recycle and reuse all waste.(With inputs from Kapil Dave and It’s like Dave)
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