Work on the proposed international cricket stadium near Raj Nagar Extension is likely to gather pace in 2026 after several pending issues, including those related to the floor-area ratio (FAR), are resolved, officials of the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) said on Wednesday.
GDA officials shared the update during a press briefing at the authority’s headquarters, where they outlined key achievements in 2025 and projects expected to progress in 2026.
The stadium, proposed at Motri near Raj Nagar Extension, will have a seating capacity of 55,000 and is planned in accordance with international standards. During the initial stages, the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) had estimated the project cost at around ₹450 crore.
Vivek Mishra, secretary of the GDA, said land-related issues at the site were in the process of being resolved. “Some land chunks, related to Gram Samaj land, are at the stadium site and will be taken up by the GDA. The authority will now proceed to get this land resumed in its favour. There are some land chunks that belong to private persons at the site, and the UPCA will get these exchanged in its favour. So, these minor land hurdles will get cleared,” he said.
Mishra added that the FAR issue, which had earlier delayed the project, was no longer an obstacle. “Further, the issue of the requirement of the FAR is no longer a hurdle, as the existing amended building bylaws allow for 0.4 FAR for green and recreational green land use, which will be sufficient for the construction of the stadium. These issues have been discussed in a meeting held earlier this week with UPCA representatives, and things will now move forward swiftly,” he told HT.
Officials said that earlier, the UPCA had sought a higher FAR for the project, which was not permissible under the bylaws in force at the time. UPCA officials said the association already holds around 33 acres of land for the stadium.
Rakesh Mishra, UPCA’s convener for the cricket stadium, said the project was now expected to move ahead. “We discussed in detail the pending issues with GDA officials in a recently held meeting. Most importantly, the issues related to the FAR no longer pose a hurdle. Our FAR requirement is getting fulfilled under the existing building bylaws. Now, we will hold one more meeting in the coming days, and the maps for the project will be submitted to GDA in the next month. We expect that the project will now be fast-paced,” he said.
The GDA and UPCA held multiple meetings in 2025 to resolve pending issues after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, during a visit to Ghaziabad on June 26, 2025, directed the authority to expedite the stadium’s construction. Deliberations on the project have been ongoing since 2018.