Bogambara Stadium
Encyclopedia
Bogambara Stadium is one of the oldest grounds in the country. It is a multi-use stadium in Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...

, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. It is currently used mostly for Rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

 matches and hosts the games of the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's.

Early history

Bogambara Stadium was not only used for sports, it was also used for folk sports like elle
Elle (sport)
Elle is a traditional Sri Lankan sport similar to baseball. There are 16 players in a side and all of them play in an inning. Traditionally "elle" has two innings per side but modern "Elle' games are limited to 50 balls match. 50 ball match is becoming popular these days...

, bahu, thattu, gudu
Gudu
Gudu is a Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Balle.Gudu shares a boundary with the Republic of Niger to the north and the west.It has an area of 3,478 km² and a population of 95,544 at the 2006 census....

 etc.
Bogambara Stadium was converted from a lake to a playing field in the year 1897. At one time it was the site for carnivals, games circuses and gymkhana activities and even an execution ground during the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 occupation.

Sports

Bogambara Stadium serves as a venue for various sports ranging from Rugby, Football, Hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...

, Athletics, Netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

, Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

.

Stadium Development

Bogambara Stadium was renovated into a stadium in 1972, thanks to the Special Commissionership of late M.B. Samarakoon and E.W. Balasuriya the famous sports promoter for helping to do lot of good things with generous donations. In 1998, Anurudha Ratwatte, the former deputy defence minister was instrumental in converting the Bogambara stadium into an international standard stadium. It was re-developed under the patronage of the municipal council and presently the Sports Ministry owns the premises. The ground fees are on the higher side and the less affluent football and hockey clubs are finding it difficult to keep the game alive.

External links

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