Newlands sale gets huge boost by Western Province, clubs may have the final say

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - JANUARY 23: General views of Newlands prior the Carling Currie Cup semi final match between DHL Western Province and Cell C Sharks at DHL Newlands on January 23, 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - JANUARY 23: General views of Newlands prior the Carling Currie Cup semi final match between DHL Western Province and Cell C Sharks at DHL Newlands on January 23, 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)

Published Feb 18, 2023

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Cape Town - Clubs of the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) will have the final say if Newlands Rugby Stadium will eventually be sold and who they want as an equity partner for the union.

No other party, not even the current administrator at the union appointed by SA Rugby, will decide on the fate of the union.

The process to sell Newlands received a boost on Friday when the application to declare Newlands Rugby Stadium as a provincial heritage site was rejected by the Inventories, Gradings and Interpretations Committee (IGIC) of Heritage Western Cape (HWC) at a meeting.

The recommendation from the IGIC to not have Newlands Stadium declared as a provincial heritage site must, though, still be ratified by the HWC council. This process will most likely only happen at the next council meeting where more submissions could still be heard. The meeting is scheduled for 7 March 2023.

ALSO READ: D-Day for Newlands heritage site decision as WPRFU sweat over ‘future of rugby’

The recommendation by the IGIC comes after they scrutinized the public participation results of the application this past week and submissions made by the WPRFU and the heritage applicants led by former Springbok Wynand Claassen during Friday's virtual meeting.

The public participation process, which the CEO of Heritage Western Cape Michael Janse van Rensburg described as very important, was concluded earlier this month.

The WPRFU had in its bid to have the application rejected asked its clubs, schools, supporters and affiliates to oppose the application to declare Newlands Stadium a provincial heritage site by making submissions to the IGIC. This seems to have worked in the favour of the union.

ALSO READ: Time to move on … John Dobson, Rian Oberholzer says WP Rugby can’t be destroyed because of ‘Newlands nostalgia’

The sale of the stadium is currently in limbo after the application was launched and the process to finalise the sale can only be concluded once a decision is made by the HWC council.

But the sale of the stadium will also first have to go through SA Rugby's executive council and needs to be approved by the governing body.

ALSO READ: Western Province Rugby to provide update on Newlands stadium

Thereafter, it will be tabled to the clubs by the administrator for the final decision.

Some clubs though are opposed to selling Newlands and are fighting to rather have it redeveloped so that the development can be a source of income for the union in perpetuity.

This could be another stumbling block in the process to sell the stadium.

The WPRFU is in major debt though and owes millions to Dream World Investments 401 Proprietary Limited.

Rian Oberholzer, the SA Rugby-appointed administrator, recently said the sale of Newlands Stadium is key to the future sustainability of Western Province Rugby.

@LeightonK

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