Plans unveiled for 350-acre Ahmedabad sports enclave

A 350-acre masterplan for the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave in Ahmedabad has been unveiled by a design consortium comprising BDP, Cox Architecture and Collage Design, setting out proposals for a new sports and community district beside the Narendra Modi Stadium.The masterplan includes a cluster of new venues and facilities, including an international tennis centre, an indoor arena, an aquatic centre and a National Institute of Sports Excellence, alongside large-scale public realm intended to operate as a new city park and year-round destination.The project is being positioned as a blended elite-sport and community-use development, with the design team framing the site as a long-term civic asset rather than a single-event build, and with a focus on public access, recreation and social infrastructure.Manisha Bhartia, Urbanism Director and Head of India Studios at BDP, said: “The rich architectural response, building on Indian modernity and tradition, has created a truly unique design full of meaning and context that will make a lasting experience for global sporting events as well as a legacy that goes beyond such events. This new public park and associated architecture will place Amdavad on the world stage for many years to come.”The enclave’s location next to the Narendra Modi Stadium gives it a powerful anchor asset for event attraction, while the scale of the public realm and multi-venue mix also supports a broader commercial model around non-matchday activation, tourism, hospitality and community programming.The plans add to the wider trend of city-scale sports districts that bundle multiple venues and training assets into a single cluster, seeking to create year-round utilisation and diversify revenue beyond marquee events.Major League Soccer (MLS) has retained Korn Ferry to support succession planning for commissioner Don Garber, with the league linking the move to a wider organisational review of leadership and governance.