The facility was a brainchild of V.A. Sugathadasa, the former Mayor of Colombo Municipal Council and the first Minister of Sports in Sri Lanka and construction of the Sugathadasa Outdoor Stadium commenced on January 16, 1957 and completed on December 16, 1962. Subsequent to various other development initiatives, the Sugathadasa National Sports Complex was entrusted to the Ministry of Sports as a trust fund with effect from 1st of February 1995 and the Act No. 17 of 1999 was submitted to the Parliament of Sri Lanka on 20th April 1999 for incorporating it as the Sugathadasa National Sports Complex.