G. M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium

G. M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium
జి. ఎం. సి. బాలయోగి అథ్లెటిక్ స్టేడియం

Former names	Bhagya Reddy Varma Stadium
Location	Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Owner	Sports Authority of Telangana
Operator	Sports Authority of Telangana
Capacity	30,000
Surface	Grass
Construction
Built	2005
Tenants
2003 Afro-Asian Games

G. M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium (Telugu: జి. ఎం. సి. బాలయోగి అథ్లెటిక్ స్టేడియం) is a sports stadium in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It has a capacity of 30,000 spectators.

History

It is an ultra modern stadium with 8 line competition synthetic athletic track and 4-lane synthetic practice track. It uses the latest high-mast lighting for day-night events and provides obstruction-free viewing for all spectators. The stadium was named in the memory of G. M. C. Balayogi, an incumbent Speaker of Lok Sabha who died in an air crash but during the agitations in Telangana it was renamed the Bhagya Reddy Varma Stadium in his honor of Bhagya Reddy Varma.

The 2003 Afro-Asian Games were also held in this stadium. In which more than 30,000 people came to watch the opening ceremony.The opening ceremony was about 2 hours and forty minutes with laser show son-et-lumiere.

About 2,800 Kuchipudi artistes performed the centuries-old dance on 26 December 2010, to earn a place in the Guinness World Records.