The FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup will be held in January 2023, and the Odisha government plans to spend nearly Rs 1,100 crore on its organization.
Only Rs. 66.98 crore had been invested by the state government in hosting the 2018 Hockey World Cup. However, this time around, the expenditure has increased by 16 times, reaching Rs 1,098.40 crore.
In 2018, only the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar hosted World Cup matches.
However, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela will co-host this time around at the newly constructed Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium.
Official sources claim that, out of the total expenditure of Rs 1,098.40 crore, the state has allocated Rs 1,010 crore to the improvement of the Birsa Munda Hockey stadium and the surrounding area in the city of Rourkela.
The construction of the new stadium in Rourkela, which is currently in its final stage of construction, is receiving the greatest investment, totaling Rs 875.78 crore.
Accommodation buildings are being built for Rs 84 crore, with Rs 10.50 crore going toward Rourkela’s peripheral development and Rs 13 crore going toward electrical work at the Birsa Munda Hockey stadium.
Similarly to this, Hockey India received funding in the amount of Rs 17.50 crore from the government to install synthetic turfs in the stadiums in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.
In addition, the management of the venue, accommodations, transportation, and media publicity will all cost the government Rs 75 crore.
According to estimates provided by the state Sports department, the state will also spend Rs 9.15 crore on the construction of a swimming pool in Rourkela, Rs 5.39 crore on the installation of floodlights in the Kalinga stadium, and Rs 8 crore on the extension of the west stand of the stadium.
The Odisha government paid Hockey India/FIH (International Hockey Federation) a presenting partner rights fee of Rs 25 crore in 2018, out of a total expenditure of Rs 66.98 crore. The previous World Cup only spent Rs 18.89 crore on venue and event management.
The remainder had been spent on things like publicity, lodging, and transportation.
The state government, which has been sponsoring the national hockey teams since 2018, has undertaken a number of initiatives to ensure that the marquee event is even bigger and better than the previous one.
The state will organize a number of massive sporting and cultural events throughout the state to make the tournament memorable for both the participating teams and the general public.
Bhubaneswar and Rourkela will host the World Cup next year from January 13 to 29.