The revised Kerala Budget for 2026-27 presented in the Assembly by Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Friday gave a major push to the sports and cultural sectors, announcing projects, including an international-standard football stadium in Malabar, a film city in Kochi and a cultural park in Kozhikode.

In a move likely to enthuse football fans, especially in north Kerala, Satheesan announced the construction of a world-class football stadium in the Malabar region and allocated ₹50 crore for the project.

Referring to the state’s passion for football, he said a world-class stadium was essential to systematically identify and train football talent and host prestigious international matches.

 

“Recognising the immense passion and profound love for the game among football fans in Kerala, an international standard football stadium equipped with ultra-modern facilities will be constructed in the Malabar region. An amount of ₹50 crore is allocated for this project,” he said.

In the first budget of the UDF government after coming to power, Satheesan also announced ‘Vision 2036’, an initiative aimed at nurturing athletes for the 2036 Olympic Games.

Under the programme, children with exceptional sporting talent will be identified and provided intensive training to enable participation in national, international and Olympic competitions, he said.

The budget also proposed steps to construct an international stadium at Chelad near Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district.

The cultural sector received a significant boost with announcements, including the J C Daniel International Film City-Chitranagaram in Kochi, M T Vasudevan Nair Cultural Park in Kozhikode and a music academy in memory of renowned ghazal singer Umbayi.

The film city project, for which ₹100 crore has been earmarked, is aimed at strengthening the Malayalam film industry.

“Granting formal industry status to cinema, creating a permanent venue for the international film festival, forming robust anti-piracy cells and cultivating an environment to attract premier national and international film productions are targeted through this project,” Satheesan said.

The government also announced the establishment of a cultural park in Kozhikode in memory of noted litterateur M T Vasudevan Nair, allocating ₹50 crore for the initiative.

The park will feature facilities for traditional art forms, including Kathakali, Koothu, Thullal, Theyyam, Oppana, Mappilappattu, Margamkali, Ayanippattu and various tribal art forms.

Satheesan said that the park will also have spaces for screening short films and documentaries by Gen-Z creators, contemporary dance and music performances, cinema theatres, a library, an art exhibition hall, an art gallery, a history museum, a literature-language museum, a voice museum archiving writers and other eminent personalities, dedicated zones for children and senior citizens, recreational spaces, food courts, bookshops, art material shops, tourist guest houses and dormitories.

“A dedicated Cultural-Tourism Trust will be formed for the professional management of this cultural park,” the chief minister said.

Reacting to the announcement, Aswathy Nair, daughter of M T Vasudevan Nair, said she was happy that the Kerala government had decided to establish a cultural and literary park in honour of her father.

She said her father had never wanted a memorial and had often maintained that his books and films would keep his memory alive.

However, she recalled discussions with him about creating a unique centre for culture and literature featuring a large library, reading spaces, performance theatres, film theatres and bookshops.

“It was after a lot of thought that I had presented this idea to the government a few weeks ago and frankly, I am surprised and grateful that they approved the idea so quickly. Looking forward to seeing this materialise. And that too in Kozhikode, his favourite place. Thanks to Chief Minister V D Satheesan,” she said in a Facebook post.

Among other allocations, ₹10 crore was earmarked for renovation of the historic Thekkinkadu Maidan in Thrissur district.

An amount of ₹1 crore was allocated for establishing the Aranmula Kannadi Exclusive Exhibition Centre and Training Centre.

To preserve the memory of Saint Chavara, ₹1 crore was allocated for continuation of construction works relating to the 175-year-old room, monastery building and historical and cultural museum at the Koonammavu.

The annual grant provided to the 52 Palliyodams, the main organisers of the Aranmula Boat Race, was increased from ₹10,000 to ₹15,000.

The government also announced the organisation of the Malabar-Thindis Cultural Biennale centred at Ponnani.

An amount of ₹1 crore was provided as grant to establish a cultural centre and museum in memory of artist Namboothiri with the assistance of the Namboothiri Trust.

Satheesan also announced that ₹1 crore has been allocated for the construction of a memorial to the late actor Salim Kumar in Ernakulam district.

A sum of ₹1 crore will be provided as initial expenses to establish a music academy in memory of renowned ghazal singer Umbayi.

The budget also earmarked ₹1 crore for setting up a statue and cultural centre dedicated to Sree Narayana Guru in Delhi.

As part of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahakavi Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer, a special financial assistance of ₹25 lakh was announced for the Ulloor Memorial Library and Research Institute, Satheesan said.

Further, ₹1 crore was allocated to the R Shankar Foundation of Kerala for the construction of a memorial building for former chief minister R Sankar at Pattom, here.