Durban - Berea Rovers and the eThekwini municipality are hammering out a “win-win” deal to save the club, which faces being kicked out of its King’s Park site to make way for a Liverpool Football Club academy.
The Daily News understands the city now plans to give the 130-year-old club a long-term lease, allowing it to share part of the King’s Park northern precinct with the Liverpool academy.
The initial plan had included demolishing the existing clubhouse to make way for the academy. eThekwini officials and Berea Rovers were reluctant to discuss the plans.
City manager S’bu Sithole this morning said he could not confirm agreement of a “long-term lease” and said discussions between the parties were still taking place.
“Nothing has been finalised yet. It’s very premature to confirm anything at this stage.”
However, Sithole said that while the municipality was working to raise the profile of soccer in the city, it “will not do so at the expense of the sports bodies already in place”.
He said he could not predict with “absolute certainty” when the discussions would be completed. “All I can say is that there is urgency on all sides to finalise this.”
Berea Rovers chairman, Dave Stevens, said he did not want to comment just yet, but planned to release a statement either Friday or Monday when the deal was signed.
Zwakele Mncwango, DA caucus leader in eThekwini, who had met Berea Rovers officials and tried to mediate a solution with the city, said the development was a “win-win” for everyone.
“This is a victory not only for Berea Rovers but for the public and for our democracy. A solution was reached after the parties got together and found an amicable way for everyone to live together. Everyone is a winner here,” he said.
Last month, the eThekwini municipality’s executive committee gave Sithole permission to sign a 30-year lease agreement with Hoy Park Management, a partner of the British Premier League club, to develop the 14.334 hectare King’s Park northern precinct, which Rovers shares.
Berea Rovers has occupied part of the northern precinct for the past 38 years and had, for the past few years, been on a month-to-month lease with the municipality.
Under the new deal it is believed that Rovers would sign a 30-year lease with the city.
Mncwango said he was relieved the municipality “has seen the light”, but it was concerning it had to be forced into doing what it should have done right from the start - engaging with the affected parties.
“We always made it clear that we support having the Liverpool Academy in our city, this move is welcomed, and it is hoped that the city will have learnt from this, and will now engage with all sports clubs that have not been able to renew their leases.”
Additional reporting by Kamcilla Pillay
Daily News