Paljor Stadium (also spelled Palzor Stadium) is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

located in

Gangtok Gangtok (, ) is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Sikkim. The seat of East Sikkim district, eponymous district, Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's population of 100 ...

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It can host 30,000 spectators. Besides earlier hosting the

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

and the

I-League 2 The I-League 2 is an Indian men's professional association football, football league. It is the 3rd tier of the Indian football league system, behind the Indian Super League and the I-League. It operates as a system of promotion and relegation ...

, the stadium also hosts matches of various local divisions and tournaments. Paljor Stadium View

History

Foundation

Chogyal The Chogyal ("Dharma Kings", ) were the monarchs of the former Kingdom of Sikkim, which belonged to the Namgyal dynasty, . The Chogyal was the absolute monarch of Sikkim from 1642 to 1973, and the constitutional monarch from 1973 to 1975, wh ...

nicknamed the stadium around 1943 because

Britishers This glossary of names for the British include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe British people, Irish People and more specifically English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish peopl ...

and a few members of the aristocratic family of Sikkim played at the

Polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

Ground. The old timers recall this flat piece of land being used by the

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

traders to station their herds of

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

en route to Sikkim and India. Around 1939 one of the political officers, Sir

Basil Gould Sir Basil John Gould, CMG, CIE (29 December 1883 – 27 December 1956) was a British Political Officer in Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet from 1935 to 1945. Biography Known as "B.J.", Gould was born in Worcester Park, Surrey, to Charles and Mary ...

had sanctioned Rs.3000 (approx $75.2634) to the forest department and ordered that the grass demonstration farm be set up there. The whole task was completed in April 1941. Later Paljor Stadium proved to be a major venue of all public meetings, including those of Prime ministers and religious leaders.

Renovation

It was on 24 July 1998 that a High power state committee constituted by the government took a decision to upgrade and renovate the existing Paljor Stadium. The project of redesigning and modernizing cost was around 30 Crores, out of which 15.36 Crores was from DONER contribution and remaining from the State coffer. The actual work started off in 2001. The modern look of the stadium was designed by M/S Architect Consultant Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata and its execution was assigned to Civil Engineers Enterprise Ltd.

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. Initially the project was scheduled to be completed by March 2004, but owning the additional work the date was shifted to April 2005.

Upgradation of the stadium

The work on the upgradation of Paljor Stadium was started in April 2001 and has been completed and the Stadium has been since handed over to the Department of Sports & Youth Affairs. The Stadium has an estimated sitting capacity of 25,000 spectators and the accumulated cost of construction stands at Rs. 30.70 crores. It has the following facilities: * International size turf football field * Electronic scoreboard * Hostel accommodation * Media centre * VIP lounge *

Physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

centre * Indoor hall The ultra-modern Paljor Stadium was inaugurated by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the President of India on 22 September 2005 in the presence of the Governor of Sikkim and Dr. Pawan Chamling,

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

of Sikkim. PALJOR2

References

{{Football stadiums in India Football venues in Sikkim Sports venues in Sikkim United Sikkim FC I-League 2nd Division venues Sports venues completed in 1943 1943 establishments in Sikkim 20th-century architecture in India

History

Foundation

Renovation

Upgradation of the stadium

See also

References