Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium was one of the most prominent cricket venues ; it hosted matches during the 1987, 1996, and 2011 ICC World Cups.
[26] On 24 February 2021, the stadium hosted its first Test match, when home side India played against England.
In 1982, the Government of Gujarat allocated a 400,000-square-metre (100-acre) stretch of land on the banks of the Sabarmati River to build a new stadium.
At the arena, Sunil Gavaskar became the first batter to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket, a feat he accomplished against Pakistan in their 1987 tour.
[32] In 1983, Kapil Dev took a nine-wicket haul against the West Indies and claimed his 432nd Test wicket at the stadium.
[36] The stadium hosted three games during the 2011 Cricket World Cup, including the quarterfinals between Australia and India [1].
[37][36] Shortly before Modi moved to Delhi after becoming the prime minister of India, there were discussions about adding minor upgrades to the stadium and further developing areas of the structure at the pavilion end.
Modi asked officials to build a new, larger stadium instead of pursuing minor renovation work.
After starting demolition work at the end of 2015, the GCA issued a request for tender on 1 January 2016 in The Times of India and The Indian Express.
Nine bidders showed interest and purchased the tender documents, out of which three submitted technical and financial bids on time; they were the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Nagarjuna Construction Company, and Larsen & Toubro (L&T).
[citation needed] In the end, Larsen &Turbo was selected as the principal contractor to build and design the stadium.
The stadium was planned to be finished in 2 years, and the reconstruction project was estimated to cost around ₹700 crore ($93 million).
[43] Final completion of the stadium was finished in February 2020, and it hosted an England-India day-night test match in 2021.
[50] British rock band Coldplay played two shows at the stadium on January 25 and 26, 2025, as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour.
It has 76 corporate boxes that can hold 25 persons each,[52] a 55-room clubhouse, an Olympic size swimming pool,[52][53] and four dressing rooms.
[55] The two-tier structure is supported from beneath by numerous Y-shaped columns, which eliminate the need for pillars and thus give spectators an unobstructed view of the entire field from all parts of the stadium.
The roof was installed by Walter P. Moore, and was specifically designed to be lightweight and separate from the seating bowls in order to improve earthquake resistance.
The playing field has sensors to detect the need for water for the grass, which can automatically activate 67 fully automated underground pop-up sprinklers.
The arena has been designed in such a way that the upper stands can remain empty (such as during smaller events) while maintaining a sufficient crowd atmosphere.
[58] There was a plan that the stadium would be connected to the nearest metro station by a skywalk bridge in order to decrease road congestion.
[62] The event began with the two prime ministers singing the national anthems of their respective countries and shaking hands with the players of both teams.
[63] After the gallery visit, the two prime ministers took a lap of honor around the stadium in a specially designed golf cart.