Bangalore Football Stadium
| Location | Magrath Road, Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 12°58′08″N 77°36′42″E / 12.968866°N 77.611585°ECoordinates: 12°58′08″N 77°36′42″E / 12.968866°N 77.611585°E |
| Owner | Karnataka State Football Association |
| Capacity | 15,000 to 40,000 (1969–2013) 8,400 (2013–2014) |
| Surface | Astroturf |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1967 |
| Opened | 1970–1971 |
| Tenants | |
|
Bengaluru FC (2013–2014) HAL Bangalore |
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The Bangalore Football Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, which hosts mainly football matches. It was a venue in three editions of the I-League, the top-tier football league in the country and the home of Bengaluru FC for one season when they won the I-League trophy on their first attempt.
Construction of the stadium began in 1967. Initially the stadium was going to be based on the famed Estádio do Maracanã in Brazil which had a capacity of 250,000 back then. The idea was to design and construct the Bangalore Football Stadium like that but with a final capacity of 90,000 instead. After the first stands were completed around 1970 and 1971 then FIFA president João Havelange made the trip to Bangalore to see the progress and start of the construction of the main stands. He was left happy with what he heard about the stadium and reportedly said he would bring South American teams to India to play in the stadium.
However, eventually, problems started to arise about the cost of constructing the stadium skyrocketed. Materials such as steel and cement were stolen and due to the rise of costs the state football federation, the Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA), were left without the needed funds to complete the stadium. Even though an enquiry was started, the results were never published due to corruption within the Bangalore system.
In order to raise some funds a leasing agreement was made with a private builder for two corner areas for his own buildings. The lease was revealed to be an 88-year agreement for 1 crore a year being given to the KSFA. Despite the agreement, the delay in construction meant one of the stands had to be re-constructed while slum dwellers moved into the area where the southern stand would be. This led to problems with fans and players who found it tough to retrieve the ball from the area once it landed there.
In 1996–97, in an effort to have the National Games of India hosted in Bangalore the high court ordered the slum area of the stadium cleared, which thus happened. On 5 December 2004, the stadium was the site of the death of Brazilian footballer Cristiano Júnior during a Federation Cup match between his Dempo and Mohun Bagan. He collided with the Bagan and India international goalkeeper Subrata Pal while scoring his second goal for Dempo before collapsing to the ground. He was announced dead on arrival at the hospital.
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