Confirming the development, the team’s coach, Pradhyum Reddy, told The Telegraph this evening that the club has proposed Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, S.M. Dev Stadium in Silchar and Khuman Lampak main stadium in Imphal as alternative home venues.
“We have written to the Assam Football Association and the All Manipur Football Association in this regard a few days back. It will be, however, only if the artificial turf laying exercise is not completed by October when our home matches are scheduled to commence,” Reddy added.
The AFA and the AMFA are yet to receive the letters.
The Assam stadia have been opted for because both are situated close to Shillong and have floodlight facility, apart from good grounds.
On the other hand, though the Imphal venue does not have floodlights, the turnout during football matches is impressive, the coach explained.
Although the Meghalaya government has sanctioned Rs 5.13 crore for the artificial turf work and the laying process is supposed to commence by the end of this month, the entire project would take three months to complete.
The sanction came only after Meghalaya Cricket Association president Conrad Sangma chipped in with a recent contribution of Rs 25,000 from his salary as a legislator and pressured the government to either fund the improvement of the ground or raise funds through public contributions.
Though the funds have been sanctioned, a turf laying company is yet to be engaged, officials said.
Shillong Lajong FC was under pressure from the I-League department of the All India Football Federation to either improve the home venue ground or forego the I-League campaign this time.
The club had earlier played in the elite tournament in the 2009-10 season when almost all the opponent teams had complained about the poor ground condition.
The club had earlier requested the I-League department to schedule their home matches later in the season with a view to giving enough time to complete the artificial turf project.
The team started its preparatory sessions today and will participate in various tournaments across the region as a dress rehearsal for the professional league.