Friends and neighbours coming home after work well past sundown but eager to kick a ball and have fun together now have a place to relax over an informal game.
Hidco has come up with a tournament space that will be available on rent on an hourly basis. The three acre ground can be approached from Akankha More and is close to the NKDA community centre 2 and is situated right next to Highland Woods, to the right of where Street 651 hits Street 626. Booking is available from 6am to 12 midnight, except Mondays. Next to it a park is coming up where food stalls will be available as will be rides for children.
"We are calling it a hangout zone. Just as Action Area 1 has one centering around the food trucks that are parked there (next to the City Square and the Clock Tower and the Axis Mall overbridge), this one in Action Area II is centred around football. Rather, we are calling it a futsal ground as it can accommodate six-aside matches,” said a senior official of Hidco, which has developed the facility.
The ground has been covered on all sides with nets up to a height of about 15 feet and floodlights are in place.
The second hangout zone is also a result of the government’s bid to “make evenings vibrant in New Town”. “People come back late from office and go for evening walks after 9pm. They need after-work recreation. We want to keep the community engaged. That is why we plan to keep it open till midnight,” the official said.
There is a car parking close by. Foodstalls will be accommodated in the adjoining plot. “We will provide the basic infrastructure of electricity and water and invite private players. But we do not want matchbox-like stalls. Thematic eateries will be encouraged, We will leave it to the imagination of the entrepreneurs,” he said.
The astro turf ground has a covered dugout with a sitting capacity of six for either team on the sidelines. There is also a vibrantly coloured single-storeyed structure adjoining the ground that has two air-conditioned changing rooms with attached toilet. Though there is no gallery, a green slope has been provided at a side where the spectators can sit in a relaxed manner.
The facility was opened this week and the first booking was done for Tuesday by the residents of Highland Woods.
Cricket too will be played here at a later date once the removable matted pitch arrives. “While tennis ball matches will be fine, it will not support deuce ball cricket,” the official clarified.
There is a huge demand for playing turfs but most are on the rooftop. “Other than one in south Kolkata, ours is possibly the only one at the ground level,” the official said.
Private options
“Real futsal requires wooden flooring which isn't available in Kolkata. I myself participated in the state futsal qualifiers in 2022 on behalf of Calcutta Parsi Club and had to practise in Spring Club that has synthetic surface that is the closest to wood,” said Shatadru Lawrence Dutt, a resident of AD Block and cofounder of V/S that runs turfs in Salt Lake Stadium, Aditya School of Sports opposite Diamond Plaza and Minto Park. Dutt is also co-founder of Turf Air Plaza at Rosedale Plaza and Axis Mall.
“But then 75 per cent of our clients come to play simply for recreation and for them AstroTurf is fine. It is easier to maintain than grass and also safer for players, who may otherwise fall and injure themselves in parks. Even in Barcelona, where I undertook a coaching course, AstroTurfs were the norm,” he pointed out.
Clients booking such turfs range from corporates to students and even parents hosting birthday parties for children. “Serious players go to the Aditya School turf, that is our largest facility while Salt Lake residents head to the stadium for the proximity and the high-end crowd goes to Rosedale,” he added.
Rates are roughly between Rs 1,000 and 2,500 across the turfs and some of them can also accommodate seven-a-side teams. Happy Hours at Axis Mall offers the turf at Rs 500 on weekdays.
A view of the ground under floodlights
Demand can take a hit in peak summer but it picks up post afternoon. Winter months see terrific business, especially with midnight tournaments now becoming popular. “On one November weekend last year, there wasn't an hour that the Axis Mall turf went vacant for between 4am on Saturday and 6am the following Monday,” an official recalled.
Another turf has been started at AMP Vaisaakkhi mall. “When we started our turf in 2017, this was a novel concept but now there is more supply than demand and so the market is saturating. We have both a cricket and football ground, of 4,500 sq ft each, with the football turf priced at Rs 1,500 an hour. It can accommodate eight to 10 players at a time. It's open 24x7. We get a mixed crowd of students and corporates,” said Aadarsh Choudhary, a resident of DL Block and a co-founder of Turf Street.
They have a second terrace turf in Sector V too but that is temporarily closed due to legal problems with the building.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY BRINDA SARKAR
