Noida: The residents of Noida have a reason to smile as the Noida Authority has chalked out a plan to develop Noida Stadium to international standards. The authorities will soon begin the work to give the stadium an international look and standards from both inside and outside.

Noida Authority officials visited the stadium and took stock of the infrastructure. “All the repair work in stadium will be done by September 30 2011. The development work will be divided in three phases spread over two years. The IIT-Delhi has already granted and cleared this project for development” said Balvinder Kumar, CEO of Noida Authority.

In the first phase of development, cricket ground would be expanded within eight months, where fives pitches will be laid in the existing ground along with 800 metres long athlete track. In the second phase, hockey ground will be developed over a period of next six months. The hockey ground will have astro turf with a capacity of 1200 spectators whereas in the third phase football stadium will be expanded to accommodate 100000 spectators, he added.

The cost of the entire project will be Rs. 200 crore and will also have an open air theatre for hosting cultural activities.