Nellore’s Long Wait For Regional Sports Centre
Nellore’s proposed sports village at Mogallapalem may get a fresh lease of life with a new Khelo India Centre proposal awaiting Centre approval.
Nellore’s long-pending dream of emerging as a major sporting hub could get a fresh lease of life with the state government pushing forward a plan to bring a Khelo India Centre to the district.
The proposal has its roots in an ambitious plan mooted more than a decade ago. In 2014, when M Venkaiah Naidu was Union urban development minister, he had encouraged the state sports authorities to prepare a detailed plan for developing a regional sports centre at Mogallapalem village near Nellore. About 150 acres of land was earmarked for the project.
The idea was to seek nearly ` 250 crore under the Khelo India programme and develop the site as a comprehensive sports village, with an eye on hosting the 37th National Games in 2019.
The proposed RSC was envisaged with international-standard indoor and outdoor stadiums, a training institute, specialised sports academies and accommodation for athletes and officials.
The Mogallapalem site also has an added advantage—a reservoir adjoining the land—which could facilitate the development of water sports in addition to conventional sporting disciplines.
However, the proposal did not progress as envisaged at the time -- and Nellore missed the opportunity to develop the proposed sports village and potentially host national-level events.
The state sports authorities are now pursuing a fresh proposal. A DPR was submitted and a letter was addressed to the Sports Authority of India in 2025 seeking the establishment of a Khelo India Centre in Nellore. A response from the Centre is awaited.
Similar proposals have been made for Chittoor, Guntur, Kadapa, Anakapalli, Krishna and NTR districts as part of efforts to expand Khelo India facilities across Andhra Pradesh.
Bringing these centres under the Khelo India scheme would provide valuable financial support for staff by way of salaries, administrative expenses, infrastructural support, conduct of training programmes and activities under various sports academies. This would help the state build and sustain sports infrastructure without having to bear the entire recurring expenditure.