The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, also known as Balewadi Stadium, is a

sports complex A sports complex is a group of sports facilities. For example, there are track and field stadiums, football stadiums, baseball stadiums, swimming pools, Olympic Parks, and indoor arenas. Asia * Azadi Sport Complex * Cebu City Sports Com ...

located in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, India. The complex is situated about 15 km from downtown Pune and 5 km from

Hinjawadi Hinjawadi (also incorrectly spelt Hinjewadi) is a suburb in Pune, India. It houses the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, a large technology park, tech and business park spread over 2,800 acres, which was built by the Maharashtra Industrial Development ...

. This complex was a venue for the

2008 Commonwealth Youth Games The 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games (Hindi language, Hindi: 2008 कॉमनवेल्थ यूथ गेम्स), officially known as the III Commonwealth Youth Games, and commonly known as Pune 2008, a regional sporting event that was hel ...

Khelo India Youth Games Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) are the annual national level multidisciplinary grassroot games in India held in January or February for two categories, namely under-17 years school students and under-21 college students. Every year best 1,000 ...

in 2019 and

AFC Women's Asian Cup The AFC Women's Asian Cup (formerly known as the AFC Women's Championship) is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football ...

History

This complex was built in 1994 for the National Games 1994, which were hosted by Pune. The

were hosted here. In 2008 the World Junior Table Tennis Circuit was successfully held here. The

2009 FIVB Men's Junior World Championship The 2009 FIVB Volleyball Men's U21 World Championship, FIVB Volleyball Men's Junior World Championship was held in Pune, India from 31 July to 9 August 2009. Brazil men's national volleyball team, Brazil won the tournament after defeating Cuba ...

was held here. The city also hosted

FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship for Women 2009 The 2009 FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship for Women is the qualifying tournament for FIBA Asia at the 2010 Under-17 World Championship for Women at Rodez and Toulouse, France. The tournament was held on Pune, India from 30 November to 6 Decemb ...

. The second edition of the

was kicked off in Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, by Sports Minister,

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (born 29 January 1970) is an Indian politician, Olympic medallist in shooting and retired colonel in the Indian Army. He is serving as a cabinet minister at the Industry & Commerce, Youth Affairs & Sports Department ...

, and then

Chief Minister of Maharashtra The chief minister of Maharashtra (IAST: Mahārāṣṭrāce Mukhyamaṃtrī) is the head of the executive branch of the government of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Following elections to the Legislative Assembly, the governor invites ...

Devendra Fadnavis Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis (born 22 July 1970) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 5 December 2024 with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as his deputies, and previously held this positi ...

. The venue is also going to host upcoming

2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup The 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup was the 20th edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the quadrennial international women's football tournament in Asia competed by the national teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). India was selected as ...

. Indian Super League club Mumbai City FC decided to use this arena for two of their home matches in AFC Champions League 2023 group stage.

Other games

;American Football Beginning in fall 2012, the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium underwent a

retrofitting Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems. Retrofits can happen for a number of reasons, for example with big capital expenditures like naval vessels, military equipment or manufacturing plants, businesses or go ...

and it became the host stadium for the

Elite Football League of India The Elite Football League of India (EFLI) was a professional American football league based in India. It was founded with eight franchises in 2011, and now has 23 franchises throughout South Asia, among whom 20 located in India, two in Sri Lank ...

and the home arena for the Pune Marathas. ;Rollball The

2011 Rollball World Cup The 2011 Roll Ball World Cup was the first World Cup of the game Roll Ball. It was held at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune. It was won by Denmark, a non-member of the International Roll Ball Federation, and host India placed ...

was held in this games village. This was the first

world cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

Roll Ball Roll ball is a game played between two teams and is a unique combination of roller skates, basketball, handball, and throwball. It is played on "roller shoes" with each team consisting of twelve players, six on the field and six in reserve. The m ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

was the winner of this tournament. Also the 3rd Roll Ball World Cup in 2015 was organized here. ;Volleyball The

was held on 31 July 2009 to 9 August 2009. Host

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 ...

ended 4th in this tournament. This tournament was conducted in Badminton Hall and Boxing Arena.

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

won this championship.

Facilities

The complex was designed by Shashi Prabhu & Associates as the venue for National Games 1995. It was later modernized in 2011 to host Youth Commonwealth Games.

Main Stadium

The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of roughly 11,000 people, and also has flood lights and an 8 lane track.

Football

The athletics stadium also hosted 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 ...

matches for

Pune F.C. Pune Football Club was an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. The club competed in I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. The club was one of the List of football clubs in Ind ...

. It has also hosted matches for the

India national football team The India national football team represents India in men's international Association football, football and is governed by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for Football in India, football in India. It is a member of FIFA, ...

. India played against

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

in a friendly match over here. India played their first match in the 2012 London Olympic Qualifiers (first round) against

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. India won the game 2–1. India then drew 1–1 with

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

in the 2012 London Olympic Qualifier (second round) at the stadium. Then during the

2011 Indian Federation Cup The 2011 Indian Federation Cup was the 33rd season of the knock-out competition. On 13 August 2011 the AIFF announced that 21 clubs had been accepted to the tournament. The tournament Qualifiers commence from 8 September to 13 September and Fi ...

the Balewadi Sports Complex co-hosted with the

Salt Lake Stadium The Salt Lake Stadium, officially known as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), is a multi-purpose stadium, used mostly for football matches, located in Salt Lake City, Greater Kolkata, with a capacity of 68,000 spectators. Named after S ...

the Federation Cup group-stages. The Federation Cup is the second most important football competition in India. This stadium hosted

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

for

FC Pune City Football Club Pune City was an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Pune, Maharashtra, which last participated in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football league system, under licence from All Ind ...

bought by

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

actor

Hrithik Roshan Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including si ...

International football matches

Aquatics centre

Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex aquatic centre

This

aquatics Aquatics may refer to: *Aquatic sports in the Olympics and other international competitions, including the disciplines of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, and open water swimming *Water-related sports more broadly (including boa ...

centre contains two 50 x 25m swimming pools, with a

of 3500.

Badminton Hall

The badminton hall 6 competition courts and 4 warm-up courts, and has a

of 3800. This hall is air conditioned and has a wooden floor. It has changing rooms available and seating & lounges for VIPs. This venue is the home ground of Pune Pistons, a franchise in Indian Badminton League (IBL). So far 3 IBL matches have been played on this venue.

Basketball

The first edition of

FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship for Women The FIBA Under-16 Women's Asia Cup is an international under-16 basketball championship in the International Basketball Federation's FIBA Asia zone. The tournament started in 2009, and is held biennially. The top four teams qualify toward the FI ...

was played in this indoor stadium from 30 November 2009 to 6 December 2009. The host,

, finished in fifth position. It has been a host for the

UBA Pro Basketball League The United Basketball Alliance (UBA) was the first men’s professional basketball league in India, comprising eight teams. The UBA was headquartered in Pune and had a city team, Pune Peshwas. The first UBA match was played on 17 July 2015 at ...

, India's top professional basketball division.

Boxing Arena

The boxing arena has 3 rings, and 5 warm-up rings, with a

of 3500. This hall is air conditioned and has changing rooms for players. This arena is the host of 2011

World Series Boxing image:World Series Boxing Ring.JPG, 250px, LA Matadors vs. Moscow Dynamo in Hollywood, CA on 4 December 2011. Both amateur boxers compete without vests or head guards. The World Series of Boxing or WSB was an international boxing tournament that ...

Shooting Range

The complex has 15 shooting ranges, with a

of 1500. The ranges are constructed according to ISSF rules. Ranges 50 m, 25 m and 10 m are available ;Ranges:

Table Tennis Hall

The hall, with a

of 1500 people, successfully held World Junior Table Tennis Circuit in September 2008. This has 4 competition tables and 4 warm up tables. This hall is air conditioned and has changing rooms for players. Seating and lounges are for VIPs.

Tennis Court

The tennis courts feature one central court and four competition courts, with six warm-up courts. Centre court has a

of 4200. The stadium hosts the only South Asian

ATP 250 The ATP 250 tournaments (previously known as the ''ATP World Tour 250'' tournaments, ''ATP International Series'', and ''ATP World Series'') are the lowest tier of annual men's tennis tournaments on the main ATP Tour, after the four Grand Slam (t ...

series championship named Tata Open Maharashtra every year.

Weightlifting Hall

This hall has a capacity of 3,000. It has hosted the 2009 commonwealth bench press championships. The most famous athlete to compete was Britain's strongest man Paddy the Pac man Jumelle. The hall is air conditioned and has one competition podium and 10 warm-up platforms. Seating and lounges are provided for VIPs. There is also a changing room for competitors.

Wrestling Hall

The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Wrestling Hall, which is used by Kabaddi club

Puneri Paltan Puneri Paltan is a professional kabaddi team that represents the city of Pune, Maharashtra in the Pro Kabaddi League. The team, coached by Ashok Shinde, plays at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex. In the 10th season of the Pro Kabaddi Le ...

, has four rings, and six warm-up rings with a

of 4,400 people. This has seating and lounges for VIPs. This also has changing room for players. This is an air conditioned hall.

Velodrome

The

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

is outdoor and the surface is made of concrete. While it was a prime venue for the 3rd Nationals Games in the year 1993–94 it has never been a place for any major events thereafter, and was left unused. In 2014 it was announced that with a Rs 10 crore maintenance grant from the governments for the entire complex, the facelift of the velodrome had top priority. At that time the velodrome was in

dilapidated Dilapidation is a term meaning a destructive event to a building, but more particularly used in the plural in English law for # the waste committed by the incumbent of an ecclesiastical living # the disrepair for which a leasehold estate, tenan ...

state.

Games village

This is a non-sporting venue at the sports city with 400 rooms, ranging between three and five stars.

Other buildings

The other buildings are as follows: ;Cultural Centre: ;Fitness Centre: This centre has equipment to develop physical and physiological attributes. This hall is air condition hall and has provision for Yoga and Meditation. This has provision for sauna and chill water bath for recovery. ;Sports Science Centre: This centre has sauna and chill water bath. This has seven departments: # Central dope collection centre. # Department of bio-mechanics. # Department of nutrition and ergogenic aids. # Department of physiotherapy. # Department of Psychology. # Department of sports rehabilitation. # Human performance and evolution laboratory.

Teams

Tournaments

; Major Tournaments ;Professional Leagues and Cups

International Sports University, Maharashtra

In 2020, Maharashtra passed a bill to establish a university named International Sports University, Maharashtra. For this,

Balewadi Balewadi is a residential suburban town of Pune, located in the city's Western Metropolitan Corridor. It is famous for the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex which had hosted both the National Games in 1994 and the 2008 Commonwealth Youth ...

-based Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex will be upgraded to upcoming sports university. University will start functioning in 2021–22.

Other uses

Filmset

Several scenes for the 2016 film Dangal were filmed at this sports complex in December 2015. The film is about two Indian daughters who won the gold and silver medal in wrestling at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

References

External links

International Sports University, Maharashtra act
{{coord, 18.574745, 73.760984, display=t, type:landmark Sports complexes in the India Multi-purpose stadiums in India 1993 establishments in Maharashtra Monuments and memorials to Shivaji Sports venues completed in 1993 20th-century architecture in India