SALT LAKE STADIUM, BHIDHANNAGAR , KOLKATA , WEST BENGAL

 INTRODUCTION

The Salt Lake Stadium, officially known as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) is a multi-purpose stadium, used mostly for football matches, located in Salt Lake City, Greater Kolkata, with a capacity of 68,000 spectators. Named after Swami Vivekananda, the stadium is one of the home grounds of East Bengal FC and Mohun Bagan SG. The stadium hosted the final match of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, alongside other matches of the tournament.

The stadium was established in 1984 because the club grounds in the Maidan area, each with capacity around 20,000, were proving too small for the huge crowd that occupied the grounds on matchdays. And while the Eden Gardens was there to handle some of the bigger games, like the Kolkata Derby, the pressure of handling both cricket and football was proving to be a bit too much for the stadium.

The stadium is situated approximately 10 kilometers to the east of the Greater Kolkata downtown. The roof is made of metal tubes and aluminum sheets and concrete. The stadium was inaugurated in January 1984. There are two electronic scoreboards and control rooms. There is illumination at night. There are special arrangements for TV broadcasting.

The stadium features three tiers of concrete galleries. The stadium has 9 entry gates and 30 ramps for the spectators to reach the viewing blocks. The nine gates include the VIP gate. Gates 1 and 2 are on Kadapara road, gate no.3, 3A, 4, 4A and 4B are on the side of Broadway; gate no 5 and the VIP gate are on the side of EM By pass. The ramps are inside the stadium and link the inner ring road to the different levels of the stadium complex.

The stadium covers an area of 76.40 acres (309,200 m2). The stadium has a unique[citation needed] synthetic track for athletic meets. It has a main football arena measuring 105 by 70 metres (344 ft × 230 ft). It also houses electronics scoreboards, elevators, VIP enclosures, peripheral floodlighting arrangement from the roof-top, air-conditioned VIP rest room, conference hall and much more. The stadium has its own water arrangements and standby diesel generatiorsets.