Hubballi: It will take another 18 months for the KSCA Stadium at Rajnagar in Hubballi to be ready to host international cricket matches.

The bhoomi puja for the Rs. 22.75 crore development works of the stadium was performed on Thursday with KSCA Dharwad Zone Chairman and former Mayor Viranna Savadi, convenor Baba Bhusad and others participating in it.

Speaking to presspersons on the occasion, Mr. Savadi and Mr. Bhusad said that it was a dream come true for them and also cricket fans of the region, as they would be able to host international matches once the development works were completed.

Under the project being taken up in phases, the northern pavilion will be built in the first phase. The pavilion will be built in three levels— basement, ground and first floor— along with landscaped areas, parking space, roads and other requisite infrastructure.

The facilities being created under the project include players’ rooms, players’ viewing gallery, commentary boxes, media box and viewing boxes, 18 star-standard guest rooms, administrative area, lobby lounge, seating decks, high quality and sufficient washrooms, necessary lifts and circulation spaces.

The northern pavilion will also have other sporting facilities such as billiards/snooker section, health club, gymnasium, table tennis and other indoor sports. In addition, there will be two restaurants with modern centralised kitchens, two conference halls and outdoor dining spaces. The stadium will also have swimming pool with modern changing room facilities and parlours. Once completed, the stadium will have a seating capacity of 18,000 and will also have indoor practice pitches, badminton courts and convention hall.

Janardhan Reddy and Associates of Bengaluru, who designed the Rajkot Stadium, are the architects for the stadium, while R. Krishnamurthy and Co., Chennai, is executing the work.