Call it member-ship: 25 kms from Ahmedabad, sports club's makeshift transit club is a ferry tale

AHMEDABAD: The city's club scene just got a whole lot snazzier. Taking a cue from Europe, where repurposed shipping containers double up as art galleries, cafes, pubs and socializing spaces, the Sports Club is coming up with a unique 'transit club' for its members on the premises of its new unit at Chekhla village, 25km from Ahmedabad.
It has procured 27 such containers at a cost of Rs 1.6 crore to build a temporary transit club which will be ready for use by June-end. A coffee shop, a table tennis court, a kids' swimming pool and a TV lounge are just some of the many facilities that will be available at the transit club. The Sports Club recently added 2,500 new members and plans to operate the transit club for almost three years till a chic new space, being designed by celebrated architect Hiren Patel, takes shape. Of the 50,000 sq yard space of the club's new premises, the 'transit club' will cover 10,000 sq yards. Initially, it will be operational on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Once the permanent structure is ready, the containers will be dismantled, and the Sports Club will be refunded 50% of the container cost as mentioned in the contract, said sources.
Explaining the unique concept, Sports Club president N K Patel said: "In keeping with our philosophy of 'a club with a difference', we thought of setting up a unique transit club. Being an urban planner, the idea stuck with me after my visit to Europe where I saw repurposed shipping containers being used to provide the citizens with several facilities."
Transit club to be ready for members by June-end
Since our new club unit in Chekhla will take at least three years to come up, I thought that the members should have a temporary club where they can chill out. So, we decided to set up a transit club which will make use of 27 shipping containers. These will be installed on the 10,000 sq yard space of the premises. We will also develop green lawns and plant 2,000 trees as part of beautification,” Sports Club president N K Patel added.
The transit club will have many facilities the regular club provides. “We want to make the transit club a must-visit place, especially on the weekends. So, we have taken enough care in introducing facilities like a coffee shop, a restaurant, a TV lounge, a table tennis room, a children’s swimming pool, a children’s play area, box cricket turf and indoor board games area among others. We intend to open the transit club to the members by June-end. Initially, it will be operational for three days. We will have 450 members from the Otherside villa and 2,500 of our new members using the space. Besides, our 10,000 existing members can also access it. Looking at this number, we expect to run the facility on all days once the demand goes up,” said Patel.
The Sports Club was the first club in the city to launch a membership drive for the new unit of its club two years ago. Following an overwhelming response from citizens, especially young doctors, CAs, engineers, IT professionals and advocates, the club had to limit the registrations.