SSC to officially become Sri Lanka’s fifth floodlit venue
The Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) could soon host pink-ball Test matches following the installation of floodlights at the country’s premier Test venue, according to Samantha Dodanwela, Chairman of the Cricket Committee of the century-old club. He made these remarks during a media tour of the venue on Friday.
The SSC is currently being upgraded to host several ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 fixtures, with floodlights being installed at a cost of Rs. 1.8 billion. The project marks a major step in modernising one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic cricket grounds.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) stated that the new lighting system is built on advanced LED technology and is designed to meet international sporting and broadcast standards. The system features high-performance LED luminaires with a correlated colour temperature of 5,700 Kelvin and a colour rendering index of 90, ensuring superior visual clarity for players, match officials and spectators alike.
In total, 630 LED fixtures will be mounted on six high-mast towers, providing uniform illumination across the playing area while reducing glare and shadows. The installation also includes a modern lighting control system with multiple operational modes, including dynamic lighting scenes aimed at enhancing the overall spectator experience.
“I think this is the future. Many countries are talking about day-night cricket and I believe this will be the best venue in Sri Lanka to play day-night matches. We are really looking forward to it. SSC is fully capable of handling it,” Dodanwela said.
He also thanked Sri Lanka Cricket for funding not only the floodlighting project but also the proposed construction of three-tier spectator stands between the SLC headquarters and the media box. Dodanwela noted that while there is insufficient time to increase seating capacity before the World Cup, construction work will commence once the school cricket season concludes.
“We don’t have time to expand capacity before the World Cup, but once the school big-match season is over, we will begin work to deliver a fully-fledged international venue to the public,” he added.
The SSC will host the first World Cup match of the Sri Lanka leg on February 7, when Pakistan take on the Netherlands.