Mangaluru : Javagal Srinath, former Indian cricketer, inaugurated the B.C. Alva Sports Complex here on Thursday. The sporting arena, having state-of-the-art facilities, is constructed by the Nitte Education Trust on 12 acres at a cost of Rs. 12 crore.

The facilities in the sports complex include an indoor stadium measuring 4,000 sq. ft., which has three badminton courts, a basketball court, facilities for table tennis and other indoor games, a modern multi-gymnasium, individual exercise stations for weight lifting and power lifting, and separate fitness centre for athletes. The outdoor facilities include an athletic turf track of 400 metres, facilities for all types of throws and jumps and a pavilion with fitness centre, a cricket field and three cement and clay cricket pitches for practicing, a hockey field, three volleyball and throwball courts, a handball court, two basketball courts, a football field, a kabaddi court, a kho-kho court and a net ball court.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Srinath said that facilities at the sports complex were on par with the international standards. “After visiting all these facilities, I started to wonder if Nitte is an educational institution or a sports institution,” he said. Mr. Srinath said that such world class sporting facilities could help churn out sportspersons of top-class, who would be able to compete at the national and international levels. The Trust should give access to these facilities to the schools and colleges in the surrounding areas so that they too can take advantage of it. Tournaments and sports activities should be held regularly at the complex, he said.

Abhayachandra Jain, Minister for Fisheries, Youth Affairs and Sports, said that the State had a large number of educational institutions. These educational institutions should build such facilities in their campuses. “If this is done, Karnataka will be number one in sports in the country,” he said. N. Santosh Hegde, former Lokayukta, laid the foundation stone for a swimming pool on the occasion.