August 20, 2010

South Africa’s World Cup soccer stadiums now “white elephants”

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

Too small for cricket and passed over by rugby, the stadiums that cost South Africa more than US$1 billion for this year’s World Cup already appear to be turning into white elephants.

Both rugby and cricket are more commercially successful than football in South Africa, and both sports need to move into the new stadiums — built and renovated for Africa’s first World Cup — to keep them alive financially.

South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins said there had been no discussions between Durban city officials and rugby representatives before the US$400 million, 70,000-capacity Moses Mabhida Stadium was built and it does not have enough suites to accommodate the local Sharks rugby team’s suite holders.

Hoskins said the Sharks, who compete in the annual Super Rugby competition and the domestic Currie Cup would have a “massive problem’’ to move to the new stadium.

“What we are discussing today should have been discussed before we built the stadiums,’’ Hoskins said.

The situation in Cape Town is worse, says Hoskins.

Western Province Rugby president Tobie Titus has been quoted saying on the advice of an independent financial adviser, Western Province Rugby was staying at its current stadium, Newlands.

So the iconic Green Point Stadium, set in the shadow of the famous Table Mountain, could now be rarely used and is set to cost more than $6 million a year just to maintain.

Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola added that the pitches at the stadiums were too small to host cricket games, and blamed the failure of cities to consult cricket authorities before construction.

Hoskins said the hype generated by the June-July World Cup also hid many of the issues, leaving the stadiums now struggling to bring in income.

“In 2007, I foresaw major problems coming and I asked for the intervention of the ministry,’’ Hoskins told the committee. “Unfortunately, we were all taken up by the soccer World Cup and in the hype we forgot we should have been talking to each other.’’

Just 10 days after the World Cup ended, South African Football Association chief executive Leslie Sedibe told a parliamentary committee football faced a major challenge to keep the stadiums in use and profitable — largely due to traditionally low ticket prices charged at local matches and the high cost of the new arenas.

South Africa spent an estimated $1.3 billion building and upgrading 10 stadiums for the tournament but now Hoskins says he fears South Africa will be a “laughing stock.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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