ALL the new stadiums that have gone up for the World Cup are now more than 85 percent complete, the 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee South Africa has said.
Now all that is left is for the finishing touches to be done to the stadium bowls and the construction on the precinct areas around the stadiums.
The stadiums will then be handed over to the 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee South Africa.
Durban's own pride and joy, the iconic Moses Mabhida, with its distinctive 106m arch and hi-tech sky car that will take visitors to a viewing platform, will be officially opened towards the end of November. The exact date is still to be decided, the city says.
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Now 95 percent complete, the stadium is expected to be completed by the end of this month. "Four changerooms provide facilities for both the main teams as well as those playing in a curtain-raiser. Thirteen lifts will provide easy access to the stands and a 96 square metre video screen ensures that all spectators have a close-up view of the games," a statement said.
Although there are 70 000 seats in the stadium for the World Cup, these will be scaled down to 56 000 afterwards.
However, the stadium "has the potential to expand to 85 000 seats to meet the requirements of large-scale events, such as the Olympic and Commonwealth Games".
Julie-May Ellingson, head of Durban's strategic projects unit and 2010 programme, said: "In the next few years, Durban will be one of the few cities in Africa where most of the main Olympic sporting codes can be played in a centrally located international-standard destination called the King's Park Sporting Precinct."
The stadium has been designed and built in accordance with international safety and security requirements, and special attention has been paid to issues of crowd control and evacuation procedures.
Durban's first 2010 game will be on June 13.
Apart from the six new stadiums that have gone up around the country, renovations have also been carried out at other venues where 2010 matches will be played: Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg; Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Tshwane/Pretoria; Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg and the Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein.
It is no wonder that Wilfried Lemke, the UN's special adviser on sport for development and peace, has praised South Africa for its World Cup preparations, saying the country was building the world's best football venues.
- This article was originally published on page 11 of Daily News on October 28, 2009
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