Stadium cum wedding plot

The Cooperage Football Stadium is one of the few stadiums in the city that encourages young sportsmen. This SoBo stadium has been in the news for the longest time but not for its matches or athletes. The reason for it being in news, as alleged by activists and residents, is the constant flouting of rules by the Western India Football Association (WIFA), the body that manages the stadium.

According to activists and residents living around the area, the plot on which the stadium is built is a recreational ground designated for the public. Despite this, the public is denied access to it as one portion of the ground is used as a stadium, while the other is leased out for weddings.
Ashad Mehta of Oval Cooperage Residents Association shares, "We are not against the stadium or the sport at all. We are simply asking to look in to the matter of the ground being used for weddings during the dry months. Due to this, two days before any wedding ceremony, the event managment crew takes over, creating a lot of noise as they set up the pandal, arrange the furniture, etc. The same thing happens with unpacking after the ceremony is over. All this noise disturbs the residents living around the stadium, especially at night."

Members of NGOs and associations like Nagar, OCRA and housing societies located around the stadium have written several letters complaining about this issue. The letters have been written to the Collector, as this public ground belongs to the Collector of Mumbai.
Nayana Kathpalia, Trustee, Nagar NGO, shares, "So many letters have been written to the Collector over the years as these violations have been happening for a long time. However, we have not received any reply from the Collector."
A recent letter sent by Nagar says, "We are writing to you regarding the Cooperage Football Ground, half of which has been tiled over to facilitate wedding functions and a permanent low wall and kitchen built for the convenience of the caterers. The other half has Astro Turf for playing football, spectator stands and office buildings. Together, these allow for absolutely no space for citizens to recreate in. This flouts one of the conditions of the lease agreement between the government and the Western India Football Association (WIFA)."

When the venue is given for weddings, the cars of the people who attend the ceremony are parked haphazardly all around the ground. Dev Mehta, resident of a building adjacent to the stadium, says, "There are so many cars coming to the venue that are parked everywhere. There are times when we can't even drive out of our own building. And let's not forget the non-stop honking and chaos that follow."

The residents and activists are demanding that WlFA should be directed to remove the tiles, the low wall and the kitchen structure immediately. Residents are also urging the authorities to make at least half of the ground green with natural grass and open to the sky, which can allow citizens unhampered access to the ground when football is not being played, which is as per the conditions of the lease.

We asked Shaila A., Collector, Mumbai city, if she is aware of the issue, to which she responded, "I receive hundreds of letters every day and it is difficult to comment on it right away. Usually, grounds are allowed for 30 to 60 days and if there are violations, we have even penalised the party. We need to look into this in detail."