Paljor Stadium's new artificial turf inaugurated

In Gangtok, the capital of the Sikkim, they inaugurated their first artificial football turf in the state at the iconic Paljor Stadium today. The new ground was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Sikkim Dr. Pawan Chamling this afternoon.

The turf is said to be the biggest in the South Asian region covering more than 93,000 square feet, which is 3,000 sq.ft. larger than the turf at the Saltlake Stadium in Kolkata. The artificial turf was installed by the US company FieldTurf Tarkett.

The Sikkim Football Association had requested their state government to install the all weather turf to enable football throughout the year at the Paljor Stadium. The Sikkim government obliged and has footed the bill of Rs 37,7 Million (3,77 crores) to install the artificial turf.

The inaugural match was played between the Baichung Bhutia co-owned United Sikkim FC and a Sikkim Minister's XI. The match ended in a 2-2 draw with Baichung Bhutia himself and his friend Renedy Singh also playing in the friendly match.

Interesting to note is today another artificial turf ground, the Bangalore Football Stadium had its first competitive match with the I-League game between HAL and East Bengal Club. India now has three stadiums - Saltlake Stadium, Bangalore Football Stadium, Paljor Stadium - and a practice ground in Chowgule College in Goa with artificial turfs operational. Mumbai's Cooperage Ground is currently being turned into an artificial turf while Shillong and Imphal are also set to get artificial turfs under the FIFA program 'Win in India with India'.