Sri Lankan Sports Facilities at Risk???

Sri Lankan Cricket and Sooriyawewa International Cricket Stadium

Sports facility means a place where people assemble to engage in a sport event. Sports facilities have progressed since ancient times. As for many other sports, there are sports facilities dedicated for cricket in Sri Lanka. Cricket being a popular sport in Sri Lanka, the country has eight grounds that have been used to host international cricket matches. Seven of them have also hosted Test matches. However, the Colombo Cricket Club Ground and the Tyronne Fernando Stadium are no longer used for matches of international level. Colombo Cricket Ground is located in Maitland Crescent, Colombo 07 in Western province. The Colombo cricket ground can accommodate 6,000 people in its stadium. Tyronne Fernando Stadium is located in Moratuwa and it has a capacity of 16,000. Although they are not used for international matches today, they are still used for domestic matches and for warm-up matches for visiting teams. The Galle International Stadium was destroyed in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami but was rebuilt and was able to host international matches again from 2007. The stadium has a capacity of 35,000. The Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium is located in Dambulla and it has a capacity of 16,800. Its maiden One Day International was played in 2001, but was unable to host another until 2003 due to a legal problem. The R. Premadasa Stadium which has hosted Cricket World Cup matches is located in Colombo, Western province. The R. Premadasa Stadium is also known as “The Khettarama Stadium” which has a capacity of 35,000. It was one of the three grounds in Sri Lanka that hosted matches for the 1996 Cricket World Cup. The other two were the Asgiriya Stadium and the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground. Asgiriya Stadium has a capacity of 10,300 and is located in Kandy. The Sinhalese Sports club has a capacity of 10,000 and is located in Maitland Place, Colombo 07. “Lord’s of Sri Lanka” is another name given for Sinhalese Sports Club. Pallekele international cricket stadium which has a capacity of 35,000 was newly constructed to host matches for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The tournament was jointly hosted by Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.

Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium (MRICS) better known as Sooriyawewa International Cricket Stadium was established in 2009. It is the second-largest stadium in Sri Lanka and was also newly constructed for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. This facility is an International Stadium and is located in Hambantota, Sri Lanka. The proposal to build this International Cricket Stadium at Sooriyawewa was a part of the government’s plan to develop sports in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka as a part of transforming Hambantota into the second major urban hub of Sri Lanka, away from Colombo. Sooriyawewa International Cricket Stadium stands 8 km from Hambantota town and 204 km away from Colombo, the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The stadium has a capacity of 35,000. Sri Lanka Cricket is the owner of this facility. In addition to that Sri Lanka cricket operate and tenants this ground. Thanamalvila end and Sooriyawewa end are the end names of this facility. The Sri Lanka government had spent Rs.4.5 billion to construct this stadium. The Stadium was designed including facilities for VVIP and VIP Visitors. The stadium provides high security and luxury facilities including dining and other facilities for the cricketers and umpires. The Media Box and Score Board are at an excellent level. The above were constructed to meet the International Cricket Council requirements. The Grand Stand provides seating accommodation for many spectators. Also, the VVIP area is provided with air-conditioning facilities along with air-conditioned boxes for small groups to witness the Match. Besides, the ground provides facilities to service the public areas such as stair cases, kitchen / restaurant, and toilet facilities which were located centrally. (Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium | Sri Lanka | Cricket Grounds | ESPNcricinfo.com, 2020).

There are some tourists’ attractions located a little bit far away from Sooriyawewa International Cricket Stadium which lure people to this area. Mahapelessa hot springs, Ridiyagama safari park, Madunagal Hermitage, Bird research center, and resort are some places that attract travelers. In addition, many safari services are also functioning close to Sooriyawewa. There some three-star hotels such as Udawalawa Ayurveda resort, best life eco-resort Mattala, red elephant safari cottage near Sooriyawewa. High luxurious hotel facilities are not that available near the Sooriyawewa International Cricket Stadium. Population and hotel facilities are almost minimal which stands as a disadvantage for the ground. The ground is located about 100m away from the wild life where elephants and other wild animals roam about which is considered too close for such an establishment. Sooriyawewa International Cricket Stadium is centered in a very rural area, which is why it has come under extreme criticism and has been called a ‘white elephant’ as only a few matches are held in the stadium given the extreme costs for construction and maintenance. But people are benefited as more income sources and new job opportunities are created through this project and it enhances the social status of the communities.

In 2011 Sooriyawewa international cricket stadium hosted two successful world cup matches. The first official international match was held between Sri Lanka and Canada on 20^th of February 2011, which Sri Lanka won by 210 runs. The second match was between Pakistan and Kenya on 23^rd of February 2011, which Pakistan won by 205 runs. In addition, Sooriyawewa International cricket stadium hosted three twenty20 matches in 2012. A match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe was played on 18^th September 2012 which was won by Sri Lanka by 82 runs. The second twenty20 match was between Zimbabwe and South Africa on 20th September 2012, which South Africa won by 10 wickets, and the third tewnty20 match between South Africa and Sri Lanka on 22^nd September 2012. South Africa won this twenty20 match by 32 runs (Cricket Stats, 2020). The above mentioned were the matches played in Sooriyawewa International Cricket Stadium. Because of the low coverage of international matches in this rural area, the Stadium is often hired out for wedding receptions to gain revenue. In 2016, after the inspections by Sri Lanka Cricket, it was pointed out that the walls, carpets, furniture, and equipment in the stadium are in a severe state of neglect and deterioration without any attempt to revive the facility to its earlier status.

This arises the argument “Is Sri Lankan sports facilities at risk?