Bogambara Stadium ( si, බෝගම්බර ක්‍රිඩාංගනය) is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

It is one of the oldest grounds in the country. Stadium is currently used mostly for

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

matches and hosted the games of the

Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's The Sri Lanka Sevens is an annual international rugby sevens tournament held in Sri Lanka. Sponsored by telecommunications provider Dialog, the event has been part of the Asian Sevens Series since 2015. It was founded in 1999 as the Singer Sri ...

. It has a capacity of 30,000.

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 British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, Sri Rahula College, St. Paul's (now known as Sri Sumangala College),

Dharmaraja College Dharmaraja College ( si, ධර්මරාජ විද්‍යාලය), founded in 1887, is a boys' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist school with around 300+ teaching staff and around 5000+ students. The school has many notable ...

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 ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

, bahu,

thattu Thattu is an Indian restaurant in Chicago, Illinois. Established in April 2023, the business was included in ''The New York Times'' 2023 list of the 50 best restaurants in the United States. It was also named one of twelve best new restaurants in ...

and

gudu Gudu is a Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Balle. With an area of 3,478 km and a population of 95,544 at the 2006 census, with an estimated population of 139,000 in 2019. Gudu shares a boun ...

Sports

Bogambara Stadium serves as a venue for various sports, including

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

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, and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Stadium development

Bogambara Stadium was renovated into a stadium in 1972, thanks to the Special Commissionership of M. B. Samarakoon, who initiated the renovation work with support from local politicians such as

E. L. Senanayake Deshamanya Edward Lionel Senanayake (known commonly as E.L Senanayake) (8 August 1920 – 29 January 2000) was a Sri Lankan politician belonging to the United National Party. He was the 12th Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Speaker of the ...

Noel Wimalasena Deshamanya Noel Wimalasena (23 March 1914 – 5 May 1994) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and the first Governor of Sabaragamuwa. Early life and education Nanediri Wimalasena was born on 23 March 1914 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He attended An ...

Shelton Ranaraja Shelton Ranaraja ( si, ෂෙල්ටන් රණරාජා; 3 November 1926 – 11 August 2011) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and deputy minister. Early life and family Ranaraja was born on 3 November 1926 in Ranwala near Kegalle ...

, and E. W. Balasuriya, a local sports promoter and philanthropist, who assisted in raising donations. In 1997 the Bogambara stadium was upgraded to an international standard stadium, at a cost of

Rs. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

89 million, with 75% of the funding coming from the Kandy District Sports Development Foundation, chaired by

Anuruddha Ratwatte General Anuruddha Leuke Ratwatte (14 July 1938 – 24 November 2011), frequently referred to as Anuruddha Ratwatte, was a Sri Lankan soldier and politician. He was a Cabinet Minister and Deputy Minister of Defence. Early life Born in Kandy ...

, the Deputy Minister of Defence. 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

Bradby Shield Encounter The Bradby Shield Encounter - commonly known as "The Bradby" - is the pinnacle of Sri Lanka's school rugby union season. It is played annually between two of the most prominent boys’ schools in the country and traditional rivals Royal College, C ...

* L.E. Blaze Trophy - Kingswood Vs Wesley

References

(2006) ''Tikiri enthusiastic in promoting sports'' Colombo: The Morning Leade

External links

The Morning Leader
Sport in Kandy Football venues in Sri Lanka Buildings and structures in Kandy Sports venues in Central Province, Sri Lanka {{SriLanka-sports-venue-stub