Office of the Premier of the Western Cape: Ebrahim Rasool
Office of the Executive Mayor of Cape Town: Nomaindia Mfeketo
The Deputy Minister for Sport and Recreation, GC Oosthuizen, announced South Africa's key Stadia for World Cup 2010 at a Media Conference in Cape Town yesterday. Included amongst these was the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town.
The Western Cape Provincial Government and City of Cape Town welcome this announcement. Yesterday's statement concludes months of complex negotiations and discussions on what is best both for the development and future opportunities of the Western Cape and for World Cup 2010 in terms of Stadia.
The current Green Point Stadium and Common will be changed forever over the next few years to become a catalyst for Province and city-wide growth, attracting visitors and tourists, investment, creating jobs and opening a multitude of new opportunities for sporting, leisure and entertainment events on a scale not yet seen in our city.
Green Point Stadium will be transformed into a completely new 68 000 seater, all-weather, multi-purpose, environmentally sustainable, modern, technologically advanced, world class Stadium giving expression to the African Renaissance Stadium at the juncture between Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean at the southern tip of Africa. The uniquely impressive and recogniseable visuals that this essentially South African Stadium will offer the world will be of great marketing value to our Continent and country. The new Stadium will comply fully with FIFA Match Stadium requirements.
The 80 hectares of the current Green Point Common will be similarly transformed to become a People's Park in the same form as the internationally known Hyde Park in London and Central Park in New York. The new Common will become as much a feature of Cape Town and the Western Cape as Table Mountain, the Cape Flats, the Winelands, the Garden Route and the Klein Karoo. An integrated plan will establish a world-class inner-city park, catering for events, sports, heritage, leisure, and relaxation in a landscaped space with indigenous trees, gardens and water features. Attention will be paid to any heritage aspects of the site and development. A memorial park could be developed on the current Fort Wynyard site. All the land on the common belongs to the City.
The improvement and better use of the Common and Stadium have been under discussion and consultation for some seven years. World Cup 2010 has helped us to accelerate the project in the context of the biggest Sporting event in the world.
This development will help us to lobby for the following:
- FIFA to host its Congress in Cape Town
- To host the Opening of WC 2010 and or a Semi-final
- To host various top teams in Cape Town
- To host the World's Media for WC 2010
The Common and Stadium will form a cohesive entity from which we all will benefit in many different ways. They will be a long term resource and a platform for us to look forward to future event possibilities.
A thorough public consultation and partnership process will accompany these unfolding plans. The following objectives must be served:
- the best design of both the Stadium and Common
- the appropriate preservation of any historical sites and or human remains
- the provision of proper public transport to the site
- the provision of adequate parking
- the integration of the city across historical barriers
- ensuring that soccer receives the developmental and public assistance and focus that will ensure that is not ghettoised to the Cape Flats, but takes its rightful place throughout the city and province
An Environmental Impact Assessment will precede and inform the re-development.
The upgrading of Athlone soccer stadium as a WC 2010 Legacy Project to a 30 000 seater, roofed stadium will continue and contractors are already on site. This stadium is still expected to host 2010 international warm-up matches. It will also be used as the training venue for World Cup teams based in Cape Town. Community stadia will also be upgraded: so far Swartklip and Phillippi have been identified for this purpose.
The development of these sites will be fully Proudly South African initiatives to ensure the acquisition of necessary skills and the employment of local people in all aspects of the great task that lies ahead of us.
As a Province and City we can now look forward to Africa and South Africa's WC 2010 with even greater pride and vision as we focus our collective energies on presenting the best that we have to the international soccer playing community.
- All media enquiries for Premier Ebrahim Rasool should be directed to Shado Twala on stwala@pgwc.gov.za or cell 083 640 6771 or 021 483 5642.
- All media enquiries for Executive Mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo should be directed to Mandla Tyala on 084 494 5479.
