The city-based Shrachi group is foraying into the business of sports in partnership with former tennis ace and Calcutta boy Leander Paes.

The Todi family-owned business house, which is into real estate and EPC, has floated a separate business vertical Shrachi Sports Ventures (SSV) for this purpose and has hired a team of professionals to run it.

Shrachi is also hoping to bank on its growing association with East Bengal Club to power its entry into sports. It already sponsors cricket and hockey teams of the club and when the ongoing corporate tie up with Emami for football ends after the close of the next season of the Indian Super League, Shrachi is likely to throw its hat into the ring for football franchisee too.

Rahul Todi, managing director of Shrachi Realty, said building sports capabilities required investment in infrastructure which Shrachi is well positioned to build, given its expansive real estate portfolio.

“We are looking to invest Rs 250-300 crore in sports over the next two to three years,” Todi, who is also the vice-president of East Bengal Club, said on Wednesday.

Shrachi is working on a number of real estate projects in Calcutta and many other districts of south Bengal, apart from Jamshedpur and Bhubaneswar. Many of the sports facilities that Shrachi and Leander have conceptualised would come up in and around those real estate projects.

The first venture to be off the block is the makeover of Shrachi Aditya School of Sports Academy in Barasat where a football ground and cricket stadium already exist. The duo intends to convert it into a top-class sports university, promoting multiple Olympic sports disciplines.

Another area of interest for Paes, who has 18 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic bronze medal in his glittering career, would be creating the Calcutta franchise in all organised national sports tournaments, which has a large TV audience.

Accordingly, they are exploring owning a franchise in rugby as well as Pro-Panja League, India’s professional arm wrestling tournament.

While Leander will be a plank SSV is banking on, the 4 crore large fanbase of East Bengal Club will be another support base. Plans are afoot to develop F&B facility in the EB tent and replicate EB arenas across other locations of the state.