Commonwealth Games 2030 to be held in world’s biggest stadium TWENTY-EIGHT times the size of Glasgow venue

FROM THE smallest Commonwealth Games to the biggest – India has huge plans in place for 2030. Glasgow did a decent job staging these Commonwealths with two years’ notice. India will host the Commonwealth games in 2030 and it will feature the biggest stadium in the world Credit: Getty The Narendra Modi Stadium holds 132,000 people Credit: Getty They were helped by the £160million compensation dished out by the Victoria State in Australia after they pulled out suddenly as hosts. In four years’ time, the Games will mark its Centenary and Ahmedabad are going BIG by spending up to £390million. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! The Narendra Modi Stadium – a cricket arena – is the biggest in the world, with a capacity of 132,000, and this will be the venue for athletics. India won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup there in March when they beat New Zealand by 96 runs. MORE FROM COMMONWEALTH GAMES The gigantic arena is named after the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who has been in charge of the country since May 2014. The Indians want the Summer Olympics – which have never been held in that part of Asia – and the Commies, which have 74 member nations and territories, are a stepping stone towards that. For October 2030, there will be 15-17 sports – an increase from the 10 on the trimmed-back Glasgow itinerary. Sports under consideration include archery, badminton, beach volleyball, diving, hockey, rugby sevens, shooting, squash and triathlon. Most read in Sport The huge arena is named after the Prime Minister of India Credit: Getty BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Cricket is expected to be on the list, plenty of time for England, following their Bazball fiasco, to get themselves in order to target Commonwealth gold. Delhi were hosts for the Commonwealths in 2010 but it was a disaster with lots of infrastructure problems and bad headlines. There were rising financial costs, allegations of corruption behind-the-scenes, poor ticket sales, debris landing in the swimming pool, teams getting sick due to unclean water and athletes blocking drains by flushing away condoms. Delhi authorities also deployed a contingent of large black-faced langur monkeys at venues to scare away smaller simians. Raghuram Iyer, CEO of Team India, said: “India has completely moved ahead from where it was. “On 2010, we don’t want to delve on it or talk about some of the other narratives around what was said. “Many of the experiences of the athletes, if you actually talk to them, they all say that they’ve had a fantastic Games in 2010. “We’re taking away many learnings currently from Glasgow, on their inclusivity and sustainability. “Anyway, we’re looking completely into the future and 2030 is going to be the benchmark for us. The Narendra Modi Stadium completely dwarves Glasgow’s Scotstoun Stadium which held roughly 10,000 people for the games Credit: Getty “We want to work with Commonwealth Sport in their whole new reset and re-imagining the Games. “And we want to ensure that the Games are ready for the next hundred years.” Commonwealth Sport President Dr Donald Rukare said: “We look forward to the athletes experiencing great competition that will take place in 2030. “As well as enjoying not only the great facilities, but the warmth and culture that we India will bring to the Games.” Katie Sadleir, CEO of the Commonwealth Games, said: “India has a huge sporting future planned in terms of a long-term major event strategy. “With a Prime Minister who is absolutely passionate about his vision for the future, in terms of the health of the nation and using sport to significantly uplift the many people that live in India. “We all know that they are looking to bring the Olympics to India at some stage in the future. The facilities are world-class that are existing there already. “It’s going to be incredibly special for athletes and fans and the world to see the transformation that is going on in India – to reposition themselves as a global sporting power.” Comment now