From the Communist nation of North Korea we travel across Asia to the non-aligned country of India for this stop on the Pléiades 1 Stadium of the Month. Specifically, we descend on the historic city of Kolkata with a look at one of the world’s (formerly) largest stadiums, Yuva Bharati Krirangan (or Salt Lake Stadium).

Name & Its Origin: The Pléiades 1 stadium of the month for May is Yuva Bharati Krirangan. Translated in English as Salt Lake Stadium, it appears that the structure takes it names from the shallow saltwater ponds that are located close by in the surrounding town of Bidhannagar, India.

Location: Yuva Bharati Krirangan is located in the planned community of Bidhannagar which is a suburb of one of India’s oldest cities, Kolkata. Situated 10 kilometers from downtown Kolkata, the stadium is approximately 11 meters above sea level. The salt lakes which give Yuva Bharati Krirangan its name were reclaimed in 1963 after seven years of filling them in with silt.

Stadium Capacity/Size, Architect & Build Date: Inaugurated in 1984, Yuva Bharati Krirangan was once the second largest non-race track stadium in the world seating some 120,000 spectators and covering 309,000 square meters of ground. However, in 2014, the stadium was upgraded and the capacity was reduced to just 68,000. Yuva Bharati Krirangan was designed and built by the team of Ballardie, Thompson & Matthews and H.K. Sen & Associates.

A 50-cm color image of Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Bidhannagar, India collected on October 18, 2012 by Pléiades 1A. To see this stadium in SPOT 6/7 1.5-meter resolution, check out this month’s feature on SPOTMaps. Image photo enhanced by Apollo Mapping. © CNES 2015, Distribution Airbus Defense and Space / Spot Image S.A., France, all rights reserved.

Type of Field Surface: In 2009, the field at Yuva Bharati Krirangan was replaced with an artificial 90,000 square feet “grass” surface made by FieldTurf. FieldTurf is installed in more than 7,000 fields across the world including in many major soccer and football stadiums.

Key Sports Teams: Yuva Bharati Krirangan is home to the Indian national soccer team as well as three I-League soccer teams – i.e. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club, East Bengal Football Club and Mohammedan Sporting Club – and one Indian Super League Team, Atlético de Kolkata.

Most Popular Yearly Event: While Yuva Bharati Krirangan hosts a variety of cultural and sporting events each year, from the various news stories on the stadium, it appears that soccer is the most popular event held here. The national soccer team plays many of their matches at Yuva Bharati Krirangan, rotating them between India’s three FIFA-approved stadiums.

Fun Factoids: (1) Yuva Bharati Krirangan hosted one of the largest soccer matches ever held in the world and the largest in Indian football history with some 134,000 spectators watching the 1997 Federation Cup Semifinal between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. (2) Famed German goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn, played his last match for Bayern Munich at this stadium on May 27, 2008 in a friendly versus Mohun Bagan. (3) There are four onsite, underground reservoirs which are used to fight fires should they break out.

The Pléiades 1 High-Resolution Satellite Constellation

The Pléiades 1 constellation (or at least part of it!) has been in orbit since December 2011 and if you have not had a chance to check out any sample imagery, take a few moments and have a look at the gallery on our website. If you work with high resolution imagery, you should consider Pléiades 1 for your next geospatial project.

A variety of Pléiades 1 products are available from both a growing archive and as a new collection, including 50-centimeter (cm) pansharpened imagery and 50-cm panchromatic – 2-meter (m) 4-band multispectral bundles. We are happy to discuss the technical specifications, pricing and tasking options available with this satellite constellation.

Working with Pléiades 1 since the launch of the first twin satellite, P1A, we have noticed that:

• Airbus Defense and Space is able to deliver on their tasking feasibilities.

The Apollo Mapping sales team can answer any questions you might have about the high resolution satellite constellation, Pléiades 1. We can be reached anytime at (303) 993-3863 or sales@apollomapping.com.

More sample images and technical information about Pléiades 1A and 1B can be found on our website here.