Sri Lanka Cricket will see the dawn of a new era when the first ever one day international between the touring West Indies team and Sri Lanka begins at the historic Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Sooriyawewa, Hambanthota on Thursday.
This day night encounter will see the beginning of a new chapter in Sri Lankan cricket with this venue set to host two ICC 2011 World Cup matches as well. Not only that the stadium is also earmarked as a venue to host some of the games in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2012.
The ICC Tournament Director Suraj Dandeniya told the Observer Online today that all arrangements have been finalized to baptize this ground as Sri Lanka’s best ever international venue and probably one of the picturesque grounds in World cricket.
Dandeniya stated that the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium will be the biggest in the world and will have all the modern facilities to meet international standards. In fact this will be Sri Lanka’s third floodlit international cricket stadium.
The National Curator Anuruddha Polonowita confirmed that this will be the biggest ground in the world with a playing area of one hundred metres long and one hundred metres in wide.
Dandeniya further noted that during the opening two one day internationals between Sri Lanka and the West Indies the country will benefit with revenue of approximately Rs. 50 million which will be a huge boost for the tourist industry.
As a result the entire Southern Province is set to be reawakened with the birth of a new generation through the establishment of several new hotels, transportation, entertainment and other services etc.
But more importantly Hambanthota will enter the World map as an international cricketing venue with the new stadium set to be admired by many top international cricketers, officials and cricket fans.
In fact the floodlights will be the main attraction of the stadium and once the work is totally completed it is expected to resemble a pearl shaped object. This stadium will also provide a great opportunity for 18 cricket playing schools in the Hambantota area where the cricketers have not had the privilege to play on turf wickets.
The ground will no doubt be very helpful for the promising young cricketers in the area to reach international standards.
The stadium is expected to fulfill the International Cricket Council requirement of holding at least 30,000 spectators.
The grandstand alone will hold 8,000 spectators while a total of 20,000 permanent seats will be fixed while the standing pavilions will have the capacity to hold 15,000 spectators.