Bogambara Stadium
| බෝගම්බර ක්රිඩාංගනය | |
|
Main Entrance of the Bogambara Stadium | |
| Location | Kandy, Sri Lanka |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 7°17′20″N 80°38′07″E / 7.2888°N 80.6354°ECoordinates: 7°17′20″N 80°38′07″E / 7.2888°N 80.6354°E |
| Owner | Sugathadasa National Sports Complex Authority [1] |
| Type | Stadium |
| Genre(s) | Sporting Events |
| Surface | Grass (Field & Track) |
| Scoreboard | Yes (For Rugby & Football) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1897 |
| Renovated | 1972 |
| Tenants | |
|
St.Anthony’s College (Rugby) Dharmaraja College (Rugby) Kingswood College (Rugby) Trinity College (Rugby) Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's (1999-2008) | |
Bogambara Stadium (Sinhalese: බෝගම්බර ක්රිඩාංගනය) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka It is one of the oldest grounds in the country. Stadium is currently used mostly for Rugby matches and hosted the games of the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's. It has a capacity of 30,000.[2]
Early history
In 1897 the grounds were converted from a lake to a playing field. At one time it was the site for carnivals, games circuses and gymkhana activities and even an execution ground during the British occupation. A number of sporting clubs including Kandy Sports Club, Young’s Stars SC, Young Wanders SC, Green Field SC and schools including St. Anthony’s, Trinity College, Sri Rahula College, St. Paul’s (now known as Sri Sumangala College), Dharmaraja College and Kingswood College used the venue to conduct cricket, football, rugby, hockey and athletics. Bogambara Stadium was not only used for sports, it was also used for folk sports including elle, bahu, thattu and gudu.
Sports
Bogambara Stadium serves as a venue for various sports ranging from Rugby, Football, Hockey, Athletics, Netball, Basketball, softball, and cricket.
Stadium Development
Bogambara Stadium was renovated into a stadium in 1972, thanks to the Special Commissionership of late M.B. Samarakoon and E.W. Balasuriya the famous sports promoter for helping to do lot of good things with generous donations. In 1998, Anurudha Ratwatte, the former deputy defence minister was instrumental in converting the Bogambara stadium into an international standard stadium. It was re-developed under the patronage of the municipal council and presently the Sports Ministry owns the premises. The ground fees are on the higher side and the less affluent football and hockey clubs are finding it difficult to keep the game alive.
Major Events
References
- ↑ "Sugathadasa National Sports Complex Authority". http://www.sportsmin.gov.lk/. Retrieved 2015-10-10. External link in
|work=(help) - ↑ http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=3846
(2006) Tikiri enthusiastic in promoting sports Colombo: The Morning Leader