The Chennaiyin Football Club has donated Rs. 5 lakh for the astro-turf hockey stadium being established at the Seethakathi Sethupathi Sports Stadium here at a cost of Rs. 3.5 crore.
The Ramanathapuram District Hockey Association is working in full swing to make ready the modern stadium by his month-end, with contributions from the public and philanthropists.
As part of the public contribution, Varun Tripuraneni, on behalf of Chennaiyin Football Club, presented a cheque for Rs. 5 lakh to R. Sundararaj, Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare, in the presence of Collector K. Nanthakumar and District Rural Development Agency Project Director R. Palani here recently.
Thanking the Club, the Minister said that public contributions would go a long way in developing sports infrastructure in this backward district.
The sports stadium had a indoor badminton stadium, football ground, flood-lit tennis court, athletic track and swimming pool, the Minister said.
As the State government had announced special schemes for developing sports activities, Tamil Nadu had emerged as one of the leading States in sports, he added.
The hockey association has already imported the turf from a Chinese company and the glue material from Switzerland. Delhi-based Shiv Naresh, the hockey kit partner of Hockey India, has been roped in to lay the turf and secure certification to host international matches.
Ramanathapuram will be the only district in the State to have a hockey stadium with the latest blue and pink turf. The astroturf stadiums in Chennai, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli and Madurai have green turfs.
