KOCHI: Two of the most neglected sporting facilities in the city - the Ambedkar Stadium and the Government Sports Hostel - are in for a facelift with the state government planning to take immediate measures for their development.Sports Minister K B Ganeshkumar, after visiting both the centres, said a panel of experts would visit the two facilities next week to streamline plans to redeem them. The Ambedkar Stadium, which was once a footballing hub, and the sports hostel, functioning in the Government Higher Secondary School campus, in Panampilly Nagar here have been waiting for an official nod to renovate the grounds to a sufficient quality, enabling them to host national-level tournaments.The sports hostel building, which houses 51 sportspersons in various disciplines, has been in a dilapidated state for the past few years with worn-out walls and ceilings, poor amenities and congested living conditions. Ganesh Kumar said the government would formulate a special scheme for the sports school. “A panel of experts will prepare a detailed development scheme for the school. The aim is to modernise the sports school into international standards,” he said adding that the panel would contain experts from the sports directorate overseeing the infrastructure development for the 35th National Games scheduled to be held in the state next year. “The present condition of the school hostel and dormitories are not satisfactory,” the minister said.He also inspected the school ground, gymnasium and toilet facilities. Benny Behanan MLA, Ernakulam District Sports Council president Zakeer Hussain, Kochi Corporation Development Planning Committee chairman T J Vinodh and the school authorities accompanied the minister.At the Ambedakar Stadium near the KSRTC bus station, the minister - accompanied by Kerala Football Association president K M I Mather - said the government was considering a proposal by the Greater Cochin Development Authority to renovate the venue. The plan is to demolish the existing gallery, expand the ground and build a bigger gallery. “The expert panel members will hold talks with the GCDA officials regarding the proposal to build a new gallery. The ground also needs to be raised by a few feet,” the minister said.Interestingly, the GCDA has built the gallery at the venue while the ground belongs to the corporation.
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