Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Gauteng, is
to undergo minor upgrades for 2010, and has a capacity of 60 000. It will
host five first-round matches, one second-round and one quarter-final.
Ellis Park was constructed
in 1982 as a modern, integrated stadium offering outstanding sight lines
from every seat. The Stadium stands within a world class sporting precinct,
barely 15 minutes' walk from the Johannesburg City Centre, and offers
outstanding office, security and medical features.
Ellis Park was conceived as
a rugby stadium, and is fondly known to all South Africans as the venue of
the 1995 Rugby World Cup final when South Africa defeated New Zealand, but
it has also become recognised as a premier venue for soccer. Manchester
United and Arsenal are two major clubs to have graced the turf, and the
Stadium has hosted South Africa's national team on many celebrated
occasions.
For 2010, new upper tiers
will be constructed behind each of the goals, at the north and south ends of
the venue, increasing the net capacity by 10 149 seats to a total 60 000.
Ellis Park will then meet
every requirement to be accepted as a venue for one of the semi-final
matches.
King's Park
stands less then a kilometre from the Indian Ocean and is recognised
as the prime sporting venue in the holiday city of Durban.
Set in expansive grounds ten minutes' drive from the primary hotel
hub, the Stadium has been regularly renovated and improved in recent
years and now stands as a mighty, towering structure.
King's Park hosted the international friendly played between South
Africa and England in May 2003 to celebrate the international launch
of South Africa's 2010 World Cup bid and the Stadium won unreserved
praise from visiting officials and media.
Originally built as a rugby Stadium and used as a semi-final venue
in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, King's Park has now become a dual-code
venue, and indeed staged Bafana Bafana's first ever match, a famous
1-0 victory over Cameroon in July 1992. For 2010, new roofed upper
tiers will be constructed at the north and south ends of the ground,
behind each of the goals, to create a fully encircled oval with a
new net capacity of 60 000 seats. King's Park will be nominated as a
semi-final venue, ready to host memorable Fifa World Cup matches on
warm evenings, cooled by the balmy breeze wafting in from the Indian
Ocean. The new Senzangakhona stadium, unveiled recently at Durban's
ICC by KwaZulu-Natal's Premier Sbu Ndebele and eThekwini Mayor
Councillor Obed Mlaba, will be a world-class stadium.
The new stadium will
be built on the site of the existing King's Park stadium and has
been designed as a first-class multi-purpose sporting facility.
Named after a founding father of the Zulu nation, King Senzangakona
(ca. 1762 - 1816 ), the 100m high arches will mark the centre of
Durban's growing Sports City Complex.
Senzangakhona stadium key features
*The stadium will have a seating capacity for 70 000 people. *The
arches will be 100m high. *The stadium will cover 320 x 280 square
metres and will be 45m in height. *There will be parking for 10 000
cars.
The Nelson
Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, is to be
specially built for 2010, with a capacity of 50 000. It will host
five first-round matches, one second-round, one quarter-final, and
the third-place playoff.
The Port Elizabeth
stadium has been earmarked for a site north of the city, near the
industrial port development at Coega, offering a new headquarters
for sport in the Eastern Cape.
The structure is envisaged as a futuristic soccer stadium, which
will be incorporated within a multi-purpose facility specifically
designed to serve the community for years to come.
Safa is determined that new Stadiums should be built both to meet
the requirements of hosting a Fifa World Cup and thereafter to serve
local people in a practical, relevant manner.
Prolonged discussions within the city have concluded that Port
Elizabeth's existing rugby stadium is unsuitable for upgrade and so
investment will be directed into this new Stadium.
Its location in open land outside the city, two kilometres from the
coast, will ensure provision of ample parking and the capacity to
apply every required safety and security measure.
Yet, the Stadium's proximity to the N2 highway means it will be no
more than a 15-minute drive to the city's main hotel hub.
In its design and construction, the stadium will be created to meet
every Fifa requirement and provide an outstanding venue for first
and second round matches during the tournament.
The Free State
Stadium in Bloemfontein, Free State, is to have a major
upgrade, with a third tier added, increasing its capacity to 45 000.
It will host five
first-round matches and one second-round.The Free State Stadium was
substantially upgraded in advance of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and the
structure now stands as a fully functioning venue for international sports
events.Situated within the city's sports precinct, the Stadium is only a few
minutes' drive from proposed Fifa and team hotels.This dedicated sporting
environment, which includes in close proximity independent stadiums for
cricket, hockey, athletics and swimming, as well as several secondary
fields, has been repeatedly proven ideal for the application of safety and
security, the provision of ample parking and the presentation of excellent
corporate hospitality.
Six thousand VIP guests can
be entertained, some in uniquely converted luxury train carriages placed
conveniently behind the main stand. In advance of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, a
second tier will be added to the main grandstand on the western side of the
ground, increasing the net capacity beyond the 40 000-mark required for
venues to stage first and second round matches.
Additionally, new turnstiles
will be erected, the floodlights will be upgraded, electronic scoreboards
will be installed and the sound system will be revamped to the required
standards. By then, the Free State Stadium will be ready to welcome both
participating teams and visiting supporters to a world class venue.
Greenpoint
Stadium in Cape Town, Western Cape, is to be specially built
for 2010, with a retractable roof and a capacity of
68 000.
It will host six first-round matches, one second-round, one quarter-final
and one semifinal match.
Cape Town on Tuesday
(31/10/2006 20:19) gave the go-ahead for the construction of a R2.5bn
football stadium as a venue for World Cup 2010 matches, news reports said.
The new stadium is to be built on a 10.6 hectare site in the suburb of Green
Point, within walking distance of the city's popular Victoria and Alfred
Waterfront at a cost of R2.5bn according to the Sapa news agency.
Regulations to limit noise and light pollution and to minimise the visual
impact of the facility that will have a seating capacity of 68 000 are to be
adhered to, officials in the Western Cape said.
The Green Point stadium that presently occupies a part of the site and has
hosted various entertainment events, including one of Nelson Mandela's
star-studded Aids benefit concerts, is to be demolished to make way for the
stadium.
Loftus Versveld
stadium in Pretoria
Loftus Versveld stadium in Pretoria, Gauteng Province, is to undergo
minor upgrades for 2010, and has a capacity of 45 000. It will host
four first-round matches and one second-round.
Named in memory of a
leading sports administrator, Mr Loftus Versfeld, after he suffered
a heart attack in the east stand in 1938, "Loftus" stands as one of
the capital city's most familiar landmarks.
The Stadium is situated scarcely 2km from the city centre, in the
heart of an attractive, tree-lined residential area that
accommodates row upon row of foreign embassies.
Through the apartheid years, reflecting the prejudice of local
residents, the city council resolutely refused permission for soccer
to be played in what was then preserved as a bastion of rugby.
However, times have changed and Sundowns, one of South Africa's
leading professional clubs, now calls Loftus home.
The main west stand was completely rebuilt in 1977, and the other
three stands have been rebuilt since, creating an impressive arena,
that rises steeply on all sides and incorporates some of the
country's finest facilities for corporate hospitality.
Minimal upgrading will be required for the Stadium to qualify as a
venue for first and second round matches, but the floodlights, sound
system and scoreboards will all be improved.
Designated Media areas will be created in the lower level of the
west stand, from where the celebrated Loftus roar should give the
world's journalists something to write home about.
The King
Senzangakhona Stadium in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, is to be
specially built for 2010, with a capacity of 70 000. It will host
six first-round matches, one second-round, and one semifinal match.
The Soccer City
stadium near Soweto in Johannesburg is to undergo a major upgrade
for the 2010 tournament, with a new design inspired by traditional African
pottery and a revamped capacity for 104 000 football fans. The stadium will
hold the final and opening matches, five first-round matches, one
second-round match and one quarter-final.
As venue for the opening
match and the 2010 Fifa World Cup final, Soccer City will be the focal point
of the tournament. The Stadium, a classic, two-tiered bowl set on a spacious
site south-west of the Johannesburg city centre, will stand as the cherished
symbol of South African football's boom in recent years.
It was constructed in 1987, becoming the country's first world class stadium
solely dedicated to soccer. Soccer City accommodates the Safa offices and
hosts most of the country's major soccer occasions: prime internationals
featuring Bafana Bafana, impassioned derby matches between the giants,
Chiefs and Pirates, and most Cup finals.
For 2010, the upper tier will be extended around the stadium, an encircling
roof will be constructed, a new changing room complex will be developed, and
new floodlights will be installed. It can seat 94 700.
The Mbombela Stadium
in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, is to be specially built, with a capacity
of 30 000. It will host four first-round matches.Construction of the new
Mbombela Stadium on open land just 8km north of Nelspruit will confirm the
recently rising fortunes of this far north-eastern corner of South Africa.
Local communities have been denied such a facility for far too long and this
stadium will correct the anomaly.
Again, the 2010 Fifa World Cup will have provided the crucial impetus in the
creation of a world class facility that will significantly improve the
quality of life for millions of South Africans.
The Mbombela Stadium has been designed to ensure it enjoys a prosperous life
beyond the tournament as an adaptable, relevant multi-sport, entertainment
and exhibition venue.
An elevated site has been chosen for the rounded, rectangular shaped
structure, incorporating ideal sight lines from every seat and a substantial
administrative area on the western side.
The stadium will be specifically constructed to ensure that it meets all
Fifa requirements and presents a compact and attractive venue for both first
and second round matches.
Visiting teams and supporters may well be impressed by their safari drives
in the nearby Kruger Park but, for explosive noise and thrilling atmosphere,
even the Big Five would be stretched to outdo the Fifa World Cup spectacle
at Mbombela Stadium.
Today, the Peter
Mokaba Stadium functions as a soccer stadium and a venue for
international athletics. Comprising grassed banks on three sides of a main
stand, it serves its purpose well.
However, this prime sporting venue in Polokwane, capital of the Limpopo
province at South Africa's northern tip, is now earmarked for a major
upgrading to convert it into a world class Stadium.
It is intended that the earth embankments will be sufficiently built up to
accommodate a further 20 rows of seating, concreted and fitted with rows of
Fifa-approved bucket seating.
The roof over the existing west stand will be removed and replaced by a roof
that covers the entire western stand of the new Stadium.
This imaginative design has been motivated by Safa's desire to create world
class facilities in historically deprived areas and to build Stadiums in an
economically viable manner that offers enduring benefit to the community for
many decades to come.
In addition to the structural work, the Peter Mokaba stadium will be
provided with first rate equipment, including an electronic scoreboard in
the northern stand, new floodlights, a modern sound system and a fire
detection and protection system.
The nature of this substantial renovation on open land enables officials to
ensure that Fifa's requirements are met without difficulty.
The Royal Bafokeng
Stadium in South Africa's Platinum belt will host five first round and
one second round matches. It has a capacity of 45 000.
Mataffin Stadium, Nelspruit
Host of four 2010 FIFA World Cup™ matches.
