Salt Lake Stadium

About

The stadium was established in 1984 because the club grounds in the Maidan area, each with capacity around 20,000, were proving too small for the huge crowd that occupied the grounds on matchdays. And while the Eden Gardens was there to handle some of the bigger games, like the Kolkata Derby, the pressure of handling both cricket and football was proving to be a bit too much for the stadium.

The stadium is situated approximately 10 kilometers to the east of the Greater Kolkata downtown. The roof is made of metal tubes and aluminum sheets and concrete. The stadium was inaugurated in January 1984. There are two electronic scoreboards and control rooms. There is illumination at night. There are special arrangements for TV broadcasting.

The stadium features three tiers of concrete galleries. The stadium has 9 entry gates and 30 ramps for the spectators to reach the viewing blocks. The nine gates include the VIP gate. Gates 1 and 2 are on Kadapara road, gate no.3, 3A, 4, 4A and 4B are on the side of Broadway; gate no 5 and the VIP gate are on the side of EM By pass. The ramps are inside the stadium and link the inner ring road to the different levels of the stadium complex.

The stadium covers an area of 76.40 acre. The stadium has a unique synthetic track for athletic meets. It has a main football arena measuring 105x70 m. It also houses electronics scoreboards, elevators, VIP enclosures, peripheral floodlighting arrangement from the roof-top, air-conditioned VIP rest room, conference hall and much more. The stadium has its own water arrangements and standby diesel generatiorsets.

Renovation

An installation of a personal seating and a reducement of capacity for safety reasons down to 85,000 was a long-term project meant to "give enough elbow room to the spectators and also facilitate smooth passage during the breaks".

While some changes to modernize the stadium started in 2014, the renovation project began earnestly in February 2015. The artificial turf at the stadium has been replaced by an all-natural grass pitch. The new grass is from Riviera Bermuda seeds and below it there are two layers of sand and gravel. The next layer is fitted with perforated pipes to prevent water-logging. German company Porplastic provided the elastic coating for the running track around the pitch, which was replaced for the first time since the stadium was built.

The lobby of the VIP entrance that leads to the player's arena was air-conditioned. The broadcast rooms and stadium offices were renovated. Bucket seats replaced the concrete benches in the galleries, which brought down the stadium's capacity from 120,000 to 85,000. The VIP and press boxes, both in the middle tier, were pulled down and a new press box with a capacity of 240 seats is now on the third tier. The VIP box remained on the second tier, with an added 240 seats. The press conference room has been shifted to a 19x8.5-metre space. A spacious broadcast room of similar dimensions has been built.

Two full-sized practice grounds and eight floodlight towers have come up at the Hyatt end of the stadium, as recommended by FIFA. The referees rooms have been built alongside the practice grounds. The number of gates to the stadium has been increased to nine. Some of the existing gates has been widened, as were the paths connecting the ring road.

Location

The stadium is located in the satellite township of Salt Lake in North 24 Parganas and it also lies beside the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass which makes it easily accessible by road.

Transportation

There are numerous buses which ply around the city to the stadium. The Green Line of the Kolkata Metro is passing near the stadium, therefore the stadium has its own station, opened on 13 February 2020. The stadium is approx 13 km away from N.S.C. Bose International Airport.

Football matches

After its inauguration in January 1984 with the Jawaharlal Nehru International Gold Cup, the Salt Lake Stadium has hosted several important international tournaments and matches of the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification in 1985, Super-Soccers in 1986, 1989, 1991 and 1994, 3rd South Asian Games in 1987, USSR Festival Cup in 1988, Charminar Challenger Trophy in 1992 and the Jawaharlal Nehru International Gold Cup in 1995.

The Salt Lake Stadium has hosted the home games of three main local clubs in the I-League and the ISL, namely East Bengal, Mohun Bagan SG and Mohammedan SC. Many of the home games of the Indian team are also played at the Salt Lake Stadium. It also hosts selected matches of the Calcutta Football League and the IFA Shield. In 2014, a new tenant Atlético de Kolkata had made the stadium their home ground. Later, ATK was dissolved and became ATK Mohun Bagan.

On 5 June 2011, FIFA scheduled a friendly match to be played at the Salt Lake on 2 September 2011. The match was played between Argentina and Venezuela. This was a historic occasion in the history of Indian football and also for the stadium as the match featured Argentine superstar Lionel Messi. The stadium has also hosted Oliver Kahn's official farewell match for Bayern Munich when they played a friendly match against Mohun Bagan. Bayern Munich won the match 3–0. In December 2012, a friendly match was played between Brazil Masters and IFA All Stars. Brazil Masters won it 3–1. Beto scored twice and Bebeto scored one goal for Brazil Masters.

On 12 October 2014, the stadium hosted the first match in the Indian Super League, preceded by an opening ceremony which featured superstars from the footballing world as well as from Bollywood. In the opening match, Atlético de Kolkata defeated Mumbai City FC 3–0. The stadium hosted its last match of the inaugural edition of ISL on 14 December where Atlético de Kolkata played FC Goa in the first leg of the semi-finals. Salt Lake stadium was the only stadium among the eight venues of ISL where matches were allowed to be played on artificial turf. It hosted 11 matches in 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, including the Final. The stadium also hosted the FIFA world cup qualification match between Bangladesh and India.

In December 2025, Salt Lake Stadium hosted the opening event of Lionel Messi's G.O.A.T. India Tour, which was overshadowed by crowd-control failures and disruptions that led to police intervention, an official investigation, and a public apology by the state's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Other uses

The stadium also hosts important athletic events. It has hosted the SAF Games in 1987 and various national athletics events in India. The stadium also hosts different kinds of cultural programs such as dance and music concerts. The stadium also hosted the opening ceremony of 2013 IPL season.

Average attendances

!Tenants!!ISL season!!Home games!!Average attendance |- | East Bengal || 2022–23 || 10 || 16,387 |- | Mohun Bagan SG || 2022–23 || 10 || 25,072 |- |} }}

Gallery

File:Yuva Bharati Krirangan.png|Aerial view of the Yuva Bharati Krirangan File:Salt Lake Stadium Indian Super League Opener.jpg|The stadium during inauguration of 2014 Indian Super League File:Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata.jpg|A view of the stadium in November 2021 File:Salt Lake Stadium, Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK)- Kolkata - IRCTC 2017 (10).jpg|Statue of a player near the main gate of VYBK File:Salt Lake Stadium, Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK)- Kolkata - IRCTC 2017 (12).jpg|Statue of a player near the main gate of VYBK File:Salt Lake Stadium, Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK)- Kolkata - IRCTC 2017 (31).jpg|Statue of a player near the VYBK File:Salt Lake Stadium, Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK)- Kolkata - IRCTC 2017 (14).jpg|Interior of VYBK File:Salt Lake Stadium, Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK)- Kolkata - IRCTC 2017 (41).jpg|Exterior of VYBK File:2021 Durand Cup Final-2.jpg|The stadium during the 2021 Durand Cup Final between FC Goa and Mohammedan SC

References

References

1. "North 24 Parganas district". West Bengal Tourism, Experience Bengal, Dept. of Tourism, Government of West Bengal.
2. "Yuva Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium)".
3. "Salt Lake stadium goes Cup class".
4. (15 September 2017). "Renovated, Salt Lake all decked up to welcome future stars at City of Joy".
5. (28 December 2020). "AFC Asian Cup 2027 Bidding Nation India". All India Football Federation.
6. (September 2017). "Salient Features of VYBK Infrastutature CIVIL". West Bengal Youth and Sports Department.
7. (2017-10-29). "FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017: Salt Lake Stadium registers highest footfall in each match".
8. "Match Schedule – FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017".
9. (18 February 2016). "Kolkata possible host for U-17 World Cup Final: FIFA". The Statesman.
10. "Salt lake stadium to get natural turf".
11. (21 September 2015). "Stadium stories for the VYBK".
12. "Yuva Bharati Krirangan: West Bengal Sports Department".
13. "Fifa 2017".
14. (13 October 2014). "India: It was the largest, now it's only large". StadiumDB.com.
15. (10 September 2017). "Refurbished at over Rs 100 crore, Salt Lake stadium handed over to Fifa on Sunday".
16. (24 July 2017). "Kolkata East-West Metro trial run in Dec".
17. (31 August 2011). "Lionel Messi arrives in Kolkata for friendly match against Venezuela".
18. "Venezuela vs Argentina match report".
19. "Bayern wins 3–0 against Mohun Bagan". mohunbaganclub.com.
20. "Brazil masters win 3–1 against IFA All Stars".
21. (12 October 2014). "Atletico de Kolkata beat Mumbai City FC 3–0 in ISL opener | Football News – Times of India".
22. (2025-12-13). "'I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi': Mamata sets up inquiry committee after angry fans ransack Kolkata stadium".
23. Service, Statesman News. (2025-12-11). "Lionel Messi's GOAT India Tour schedule, set for Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi".
24. (24 March 2013). "SRK, Katrina and Pitbull to perform at IPL opening ceremony".
25. (2 April 2013). "SRK, Deepika and Pitbull take Salt Lake stadium by storm at IPL opening ceremony".
26. (14 March 2021). "Indian Super League 2022/2023 - Attendance".