Eleven years after the completion of the Cape Town Stadium for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa, the Stadium is to be put to use again, with Western Province Rugby making the Stadium its new home from 1 February 2021, reports the Atlantic Sun.
Whilst Western Province Rugby becomes the anchor tenant of the Stadium, other events, including for other sports, will be held at the Stadium.
According to the agreement signed between the City of Cape Town and Western Province Rugby, the City will be responsible for the cost of repairs and maintenance, as well as the operational costs of the Stadium. Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson said that ‘the agreement would reduce the financial burden on future generations’. He added that Rugby was found to be the most economically viable sporting option for the Stadium, equally benefitting the Stadium as well as rugby. The agreement signed gives Western Province Rugby ‘preferential access to play all its senior professional rugby matches at the Cape Town Stadium’.
The agreement means that the City of Cape Town needs to host fewer events at the Stadium, due to its greater economic sustainability in signing the agreement, the report states. It was agreed with the City that illegal parking, litter, public indecency, and traffic will have to be addressed on event days.
The South African reports that the Newlands Rugby Stadium will be demolished in 2021, ‘to make way for residential and retail developments’. It is reported that the Western Province Rugby Football Union is to receive R110 million from Investec in the deal. The Newlands Rugby Stadium is over a 100 years old, the oldest rugby stadium in our country and the second oldest in the world, only seats 50000 spectators, and has ‘fallen behind by modern standards’. No doubt there will be many die-hard rugby fans who will be very sad to see the dear Newlands Rugby Stadium go.
Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein
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