The MGR Race Course Stadium (also known as the MGR Stadium) is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

Madurai, India Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is governed by the Madurai Municipal Corpo ...

. It hosts several sporting events, including national and international

kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...

championships. It has a seating capacity of 10,000 and features a 400m synthetic

athletic track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

. Constructed in 1970 in an area of , the stadium is the main sports venue of Madurai that has facilities to host over 12 sport disciplines.

History

It was established by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu in 1970. It is one of the main sport destination in Madurai that is used by about 3000 people per day. In 2004, was sanctioned by the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

for improving the infrastructure at the stadium. It was renovated once again in 2012. It hosted the

paralympic sports The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about ...

meeting, 1st South Zone Tamil Nadu Paralympic Swimming Championship in 2014. A proposal for constructing gallery around its hockey ground and for a

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue, or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by milita ...

were sent to government in 2014.

Facilities

The stadium primarily used for hosting athletic events. Facilities at stadium include a 400m synthetic track for athletic events, four badminton courts,

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor ...

s, a

cricket field A cricket field or cricket oval is a large grass field on which the game of cricket is played. Although generally oval in shape, there is a wide variety within this: perfect circles, elongated ovals, rounded rectangles, or irregular shapes with ...

, a football field,

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s, table tennis courts, volleyball court and a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

. It is also used to host other events such as kabaddi,

powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

, and

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

in state and national levels. The stadium also has a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

which houses up to 140 people.

References

{{Sports venues in Tamil Nadu Buildings and structures in Madurai Sports venues in Tamil Nadu Athletics (track and field) venues in India Swimming venues in India Memorials to M G Ramachandran Sport in Madurai 1970 establishments in Tamil Nadu Sports venues completed in 1970 20th-century architecture in India