The Andheri Sports Complex also known as Shahaji Raje Krida Sankul is a multi-purpose facility located on Veera Desai Road in

Andheri Andheri ( �n̪d̪ʱeɾiː is a locality in the western part of the city of Mumbai in India. Udayanagari, the name of a hill near the Mahakali caves, inspired the name Andheri. On the former islet of Versova, also known as Vasave, there was ano ...

West,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was built in 1988 at Rs. 30 crore for schools that lacked the necessary infrastructure to hold sports meets. The complex is used for both national level sports tournaments like squash, boxing, tennis and karate. The sports complex has an olympic size swimming pool and a diving pool with 4 diving levels. In 2016, it was redeveloped to include a modern football stadium in accordance with FIFA guidelines and known as Mumbai Football Arena.

Overview

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation opened the World Cup cricket gallery for public viewing in January 2012. The gallery displays statues of the Indian players who were part of the teams that won the Cricket World Cups for India in 1983 and 2011. The gallery also showcases memorabilia like cricket kits, photographs and cricket bats bearing autographs of prominent players since the World Cup event started in 1975. The gallery was inaugurated by legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar. A number of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

films have been shot in the complex and its stadium has been used for commercial entertainment programmes like the Star Screen Awards, pop music concerts like those of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, who performed here on 1 November 1996 as part of his HIStory World Tour in front of 65,000 people.

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

also performed to a sold-out crowd on their 1995

These Days Tour These Days Tour was Bon Jovi's concert tour during 1995-96. Van Halen opened as a special guest for Bon Jovi on twenty of the European stadium dates during the second leg promoting their album ''Balance''. The last of the three Wembley Stadium gi ...

. Charity organizations also make use of the center. Actor

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

performed at a charity event at the center in October to raise money for the victims of the

2008 Bihar flood The 2008 Bihar flood was one of the most disastrous floods in the history of Bihar, an impoverished and densely populated state in India. The Koshi embankment near the Indo-Nepal border (at Kusaha VDC, Sunsari District, Sunsari district, Nepal) ...

. A football stadium called

Mumbai Football Arena Mumbai Football Arena is a football stadium in Mumbai, India. It is located in the Andheri Sports Complex. It is one of the only few dedicated football stadiums in the country, which has been hugely appreciated by football pundits and has hoste ...

is the project which has been completed in time for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2017 The stadium hosted a celebrity charity match, termed as "Celebrity Classico 2016" on 4 June 2016. It took place at the Mumbai Football Arena, Andheri Sports Complex, to generate funds for charitable initiatives in which

Virat Kohli Virat Kohli (; born 5 November 1988) is an Indian international cricketer and former captain of the India national cricket team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, Kohli plays as a right-handed Batting (cricket), batte ...

and

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the grandson of poet Harivansh Rai Bach ...

are involved. Bachchan didn't play in the match due to back injury and his team was led by Ranbir Kapoor. The match ended in a 2-2 draw. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to keep the ground only for sports centric events. They have started work on the turf towards creating a football stadium. The stadium will have a capacity of 18,000 seats.

Gallery

File:Andheri Sports Complex Diving Pool.jpg, Andheri Sports Complex Diving Pool File:Andheri Sports Complex Olympic Size Swimming pool.jpg, Andheri Sports Complex Olympic Size Swimming pool File:Andheri Sports Complex Swimming Pool.jpg, Andheri Sports Complex Swimming Pool File:Andheri sports complex stadium.jpg, Andheri sports complex stadium

References

External links

Sports venues in Mumbai Swimming venues in India Andheri Sports venues completed in 1988 1988 establishments in Maharashtra {{India-sports-venue-stub