The foundation stone laying ceremony for the ‘Jaffna International Cricket Stadium’ to be built on Mandativu Island, Jaffna, to fill the gap of an international-level cricket stadium that has been a deficiency in the Northern and Eastern provinces under Sri Lanka Cricket’s “National Development Pathway” program to provide equal opportunities to every cricketer with innate talent to represent the national team was held today (September 01, 2025) afternoon under the patronage of the Honorable President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, with the participation of the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sunil Kumara Gamage, at the invitation of the Sri Lanka Cricket Chairman, Shammi Silva and the Executive Committee.
The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is bearing the entire cost of the construction of the International Cricket Stadium, the foundation stone of which was laid on this day, up to the completion of the construction work. Not only the construction of the international standard cricket stadium, but also its long-term plan to turn it into a ‘sports city’ with the highest international standard facilities is a special objective and its design was also announced on this day.
Accordingly, this sports city to be built within the 138-acre area of Mandativu Island will consist of a swimming pool, a fully equipped indoor stadium with other sports, star-class hotels and restaurants, ultra-luxury apartments, shopping complexes and entertainment centers.
This international cricket stadium, which will be built on an area of 48 acres, 2 roods and 30.58 perches on Mandativu Island, will consist of 10 medium pitches. Another unique feature of this stadium is that it will be able to extend the boundary from a distance of more than 75 meters, which is considered the minimum distance from the main pitch to the boundary in an international match, or more than 80 meters.
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