Edward Henry Pedris Grounds (also known as Edward Henry Pedris Stadium or Pedris Grounds) 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 ...

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, Sri Lanka. Located in the northern portion of Havelock Park, it is currently used for football,

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

matches. Named after the national hero, Captain Duenuge Edward Henry Pedris, it is owned by the

Isipathana college Isipathana College (formerly known as Greenlands College) is a national school for boys located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Founded in January 1952, the school was initially named Isipathana Maha Vidalaya, but is now referred to simply as "Isipathan ...

History

The

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

was created in 1901 to honour Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock, former

British Governor of Ceylon The governor of Ceylon was the representative in Ceylon of the British Crown from 1795 to 1948. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces in Ceylon. The governor was the ...

, by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). The park became home to several sports clubs and the northern section of the park was developed by the CMC as a public sports ground and stadium. Since it was a public ground it was used as a venue for many political rallies over the years. On the occasion of unveiling ceremony of the statue in Havelock Town, then Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa stated that the adjacent sports grounds should be renamed in his memory. On 7 July 1987 the "Edward Henry Pedris Stadium" was declared open by Prime Minister Premadasa. During the Sri Lankan Civil War it was used by the

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

as a temporary camp and following the war underwent major refurbishment. In 2016, the ground was given to

Isipathana College Isipathana College (formerly known as Greenlands College) is a national school for boys located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Founded in January 1952, the school was initially named Isipathana Maha Vidalaya, but is now referred to simply as "Isipathan ...

to be used as the school sports ground under a memorandum of understanding between the school and the Colombo Municipal Council.

References

{{coord missing, Sri Lanka Football venues in Sri Lanka Multi-purpose stadiums in Sri Lanka Sports venues in Colombo Sri Lankan Army bases