Sector 17 football stadium available for everything but soccer

It seems everything except football is allowed at the football facility of the Trianga Urban Park— previously known as the Sector 17 Football Stadium — especially if the presence of VVIPs is concerned. The stadium, which is closed for footballers ever since its renovation in 2021, will now host the opening ceremony function of the Gully Cricket Tournament, jointly organised by the Union Territory Cricket Association (UTCA) and the Chandigarh Police along with other departments of the UT Administration and the Municipal Corporation, on the evening of April 19.

With UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria along with Raj Kumar, IG, Chandigarh Police, Chandigarh BJP president and other dignitaries would attend the opening ceremony, temporary fencing (pillars) has been installed on the boundary (non-entry side) of the stadium. Handful of players, who come here to practice unofficially, were asked to leave the field and practice on the side lines. Reason for doing so was because music system equipment and sofas for dignitaries were to be placed on the ground. Besides, vehicles carrying goods had to be allowed on the ground.

Grills were being repainted and the stage was cleaned on Friday evening. “This displays apathy of the authorities concerned. A football ground being used for cricket tournaments doesn’t go well,” said a senior player, who was running along the boundary line of the stadium.

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Administration’s apathy

After renovation, the stadium hosted one football tournament, “Baby League”, but it has remained in controversy due to various shortcomings.

In March 2022, the stadium was turned into a “gathering ground”, where a Union Home Minister announced various projects for the city, including implementation of the Central Service Rules in Chandigarh. Once a hub of producing world class football players of the region, the reconstruction work began at the stadium in 2018 and was completed in 2021. However, since then, the Sports Department has refused to take charge of the facility citing not one, but many technical issues. The stadium has major shortcomings even after its renovation. While those guilty are yet to be questioned, the facility continues to be a bone of contention within the Administration. The stadium ground faced experts’ flak after it was opened for a short time on trial basis. After the renovation, officials realised that the stadium lacked several facilities which were required to host championships.

In January, this year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed a public interest litigation seeking directions to the UT Administration to take immediate remedial steps to restore stadium upto international standards, while observing that the court could not step into the Administration’s shoes and start running the stadium.

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576 teams to participate in Gully Cricket Tournament

In all, 576 teams hailing from different colonies, villages and sectors are participating in the third edition of the Gully Cricket Tournament. UTCA president Sanjay Tandon met players and apprised them about the importance of discipline, dedication and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He urged all players to stay focused on their goals and keep away from the menace of drugs.

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Trianga Urban Park open for all

“It’s not (football) stadium now. It’s Trianga Urban Park and open for all for the purpose of promoting sports culture. Sector 17 doesn’t have adequate parking to manage traffic, and it was never supposed to have any stadium,” said a top official of the Engineering Department, asking for anonymity. The Union Territory Cricket Association denied commenting on the issue.

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A legacy lost

While the official maintained that Sector 17 lacks parking and cannot have a stadium, the Sector 17 football stadium, which was previously under the Sports Department, once hosted many national and state events, camps of national teams and was home of several international footballers. From this very ground, footballers got an opportunity to get government jobs under the sports quota. Many reached to the level of becoming coaches and even Indian great Baichung Bhutia played here. The stadium, which was built in 1960s, was supposed to be revamped for the purpose of hosting the AIFF professional leagues and events, but ended up becoming a “white elephant” of the city.

Chandigarh