Welagedara Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Kurunegala, in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka, which is situated about 100 km north east of Kandy. The stadium is currently used mostly for cricket matches and is the home ground of Wayamba cricket team. The stadium can hold at least 10,000 spectators. Since its wicket had been replaced from a matting wicket to a turf one it has become one of the best batting wickets in the country.[3] It was officially declared open by the then Minister of Home Affairs, Justice Felix Dias Bandaranaike in 1972. Welagedara stadium hosted its first international match when Pakistan played there in 1985. In recent times it has regularly hosted international tour matches, unofficial test matches and U19 one-day games. The venue is an extremely picturesque one, with the giant 'Elephant Rock' forming a dramatic backdrop to the ground. It also has historic value being situated in an important location for when Kurunegala was an important Kingdom, King Bhuvanaikabahu VI, would address his subjects from the press box beneath the Elephant Rock.[3] Even though it has a lot of amenities, the Welagedara Stadium is not going to be used for the 2012 SLPL tournament.
