India's Narendra Modi Stadium sets world record cricket attendance

The world’s largest cricket stadium, the Narendra Modi Stadium in the Indian city of Ahmedabad has set a new world record attendance for a limited-overs cricket match with 104,859 fans attending the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) Final.

Held on 29th May, the Populous designed venue feature a pre-game light show before the hometown’s team, the Gujarat Titans, celebrated their inaugural season with a finals win over the Rajasthan Royals.

Designed by Populous, in collaboration with India’s top construction contractor, Larsen & Toubro, the world class stadium seats up to 110,000 cricket fans, taking over the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s previous title of largest cricket stadium.

Advising that said the team worked in collaboration between its Asia Pacific Headquarters in Brisbane and the team in New Delhi, India to desing the venue, Populous Managing Director (APAC), Paul Henry stated “the vision was to design an iconic stadium for India, a stadium that would bring together as many fans as possible to create an incredible atmosphere for international cricket, IPL matches through to regional and community games."

Every one of the 110,000 seats in the Narendra Modi Stadium has uninterrupted sightlines of the field and pitch, and with a deliberate round, open stadium providing 360-degree views so spectators feel they’re a part of what’s happening in the middle.

Populous Senior Principal and Director, Chris Paterson said the firm has been involved in the design of several high-profile cricket stadiums from the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London to the MCG in Melbourne and the Ahmedabad venue.

Paterson noted "drawing on our expertise with cricket and major sports venues around the world, the bowl design consists of two large seating tiers, each with approximately 50,000 general admission seats designed to fill the lower levels for smaller events and still bring that sense of occasion, the sight and the sound to make every experience a special one."

Populous’ master plan of the sports precinct includes a community indoor cricket academy housed under the stadium, with a dormitory for up to 40 athletes, six indoor practice pitches and three outdoor practice fields.

Opened in February 2022, the stadium design features four-team dressing rooms and facilities, state-of-the-art club facilities and a VIP pavilion, three practice grounds, an indoor cricket academy, an Olympic-size swimming pool, 76 corporate boxes and a media lounge with press rooms.

The Narendra Modi Stadium’s new world record attendance has broken previous official attendance figures held by the MCG’s 2015 World Cup Final of 93,013 spectators and the one-day matches in Kolkata where some of the largest crowds of 100,000 fans were recorded in the 1990s and 2000s.

Image: The 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) Final at the the Narendra Modi Stadium. Credti: Populous.