The Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik on December 24, 2020, announced that the biggest hockey stadium of the country with a capacity facility of 20,000 will come up at Rourkela, Odisha and it will host the matches of the 2023 FIH men’s World Cup.

The stadium will be spread over 15 acres of land. It will be constructed by the government in the Biju Patnaik University of Technology Campus. The Chief Minister while making an announcement through a video message informed that Odisha will once again host the prestigious men’s hockey world cup in the year 2023.

Many famous hockey players from the district such as Sunita Lakra and Dilip Tirkey have represented India internationally and the popularity of hockey can be seen across the district.

Key Highlights:

• The hockey tournament will be organized both in the capital city of Odisha, Bhubaneshwar, and Rourkela in Sundargarh district.

• The new international level stadium with a seating capacity of 20,000 in Rourkela will be built as a tribute to the contribution of Sundargarh to Indian Hockey.

• The largest stadium will also have all the modern amenities and will also offer a unique experience.

Work started for the largest stadium:

A high-level team, including the senior officials from the International Federation of Hockey (FIH), state government, Hockey India, and Department of Sports and Youth Services had visited Rourkela to observe the development of the work. The team also reviewed the allied facilities and infrastructure to host the prestigious event. The work and planning for the development of synthetic hockey turf in each of Sundargarh’s 17 blocks has already started.