This cricket stadium in Lahore was designed by the renowned Russian-born Pakistani engineer and architect, Nasreddin Murat-Khan, who is more popularly known as the designer behind the national monument, the Minar-e-Pakistan, located in Iqbal Park, in Lahore. The stadium was then constructed by Mian Abdul Khaliq and Company in 1959 and was originally named Lahore Stadium.
However, in 1974, the former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi gave a momentous speech at the venue during the 2nd Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), after which, the stadium was officially named in his honour as Gaddafi Stadium. Qazzafi Stadium and Qaddafi Stadium are two of the spelling variants that are also used to refer to this historic playground.
The stadium has been renovated several times over the years, but the biggest changes were made before it hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup matches for both national and international players. Famous architect Nayyar Ali Dada was commissioned to perform the renovations and he took inspiration from Mughal architecture for its stunning red-brick design. Floodlights were also added to the stadium with their own power backup generator during this time, making this the first stadium in Pakistan to be equipped with floodlights for night matches.
HOW TO GET TO GADDAFI STADIUM, LAHORE?
Located in Gulberg, Lahore, Gaddafi Stadium is fairly hard to miss with its red brick boundary walls and its prime location in Gulberg 3 where there is a collection of sports academies and stadiums for cricket, football, hockey, tennis, and many other sports. To pinpoint the exact location of Gaddafi Stadium, it is built on Hafeez Kardar Road, which is easily accessible via Ferozepur Road that is the hub of public transportation in Lahore.
The National Hockey Stadium and Punjab Athletics Stadium are located directly opposite to Gaddafi Stadium, while the Punjab International Swimming Complex, Quaid e Azam International Cycling Velodrome, Punjab Institute of Language, Art & Culture, Alhamra Open Air Theatre, Nishtar Park Sports Complex, and the National Cricket Academy are some of the prominent landmarks surrounding the stadium.
